Well, Isn't this Interesting?
by Ticho
Summary: Thrown into another world, tossed into another body, can things get even more confusing? On top of that, a god decided I should play guardian angel for a few years just to go home! Messed up, right? Full Summary in Chapter 1!
1. What did I do this time?

**Hey! I just suddenly got inspired to write a Harry Potter and Naruto Crossover that does not involve mission of any sort. Not sure how this is gonna turn out but I have a lot of ideas for this story. Hopefully, I would get through my writer's block on BLIND. Please review! **

**I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR NARUTO. **

XxXxX

"Alrighty," I smiled as I formed the seals for the summoning. Ahhhh, Hirusen-Ojii-sama would kill me if he found out that I was trying to get myself a summoning. I don't see why I couldn't get one. I mean, Naruto onii-sama had one and Kakashi-sempai had one too. Heck, even Kakashi-sempai's weird friend had one. "let just hope it works."

I channel my chakra in my hands and place it on the ground together.

"_Kuchiyose no Jutsu!_" I muttered. I heard a shout and saw ojii-sama running toward me. The next thing I knew, I was surrounded my smoke and felt the worse sensation ever. I felt like I was being squeezed on all sides through a tube. First thing's first, I thought a summoning jutsu would at LEAST summon something to you, NOT the other way around. Secondly, where the fuck am I going? Thirdly, Ojii-sama is sooooo going to kill me once I get back home.

There was a loud pop and I landed on cold stone floor. The smell of rotting carcass hit me. If it wasn't for the fact that I was a trained shinobi, I would've threw up right then and there. I forced my eyes open and saw nothing. Ok...that's strange. Seconds later, my eyes adjust to the darkness and I found myself in a jail cell. Fuck! This was soooooo not suppose to happen! Maybe someone will noticed that I wasn't suppose to be here. Yea, I'm pretty sure someone would at least come and check whoever was here. I glanced at my surrounding. Ok, a wall with grim on it. Um, a corner with a pile of old clothes. Ok. Let's see, another wall, another corner, and another wall. Shit, there is absolutely nothing here that can help me in any way. The pile of old clothes is just nasty! None, the less, I still walked over to it. I felt my hopes lifted when I saw some chains under the pile of clothes. Alrighty, if I can just use those to break the bars, I'm home free!

I picked up the clothes and found the source of the smell. The chains led to a pair of decaying hands. This was sooooo not doing any good to my stomach. Of course, being the only being on the planet that could get ojii-sama to pass out in anger, I pulled the fabric further away revealing the decaying carcass. The eye socket was hallow and the cheeks had shrunken to the point the skull can be literally seen. There was hardly any hair left on the head and what was left of it had fallen off when I pulled the skeleton's clothes away. Where there wasn't hair, the skull was exposed and there was a place where it caved in. Brain damage much? And then, it hit me. This person, man, woman, whatever, have been dead for years! Nobody had come to check up on this guy for years.

I ran to the other corner of the cell and emptied my stomach. Ahhh fuck, that just put my chances of surviving a few more days down to none. That means I HAVE to get out of here TODAY! I hurried back to the dead prisoner and forced myself to breathe through my mouth. I nearly choked as the smell seem translate into taste in my brain. Oh, how I hate you today brain! I said a quick prayer to the poor soul before pulling out my equipment. Bile rose up my throat as I picked up the lock picking equipment from the rest of my stuff.

You would think I had enough bad luck for the day right? Wrong! Five minutes passed, ten minutes passed, fifteen minutes passed, these cuffs would NOT OPEN! You would also think that I would probably resort to breaking the limb for the dead due to frustration right? Yea, I don't think I would get away with that even if I said a prayer for its soul. That does not mean it did not cross my mind, I tell you!

"Why won't you open?" I screamed at the cuffs. I nearly threw my lock picks down in frustration when I heard a small click. Then the cuffs popped open from the wrists of the corpse. Really? They unlock themselves AFTER I screamed at them? What joy! I grabbed the chain cuffs and wrapped the middle part to two of the vertical bars. If this works, I would be home free in a matter of minutes! That is, if someone didn't come and find me. Shit! I sooo do not want to die young. Once the chains were looped once around the bars, I stepped as far away from the entrance as the chains would allow me.

"Please, don't break. Please don't break." I muttered as I applied chakra to my feet before I began pulling on the chain. Heck, I even channel chakra into the chains to reinforce them.

I didn't even have time to cheer for my success when the bars started to bend and were completely ripped from the stone ceiling and floor when I realized the floor was beginning to freeze. I took it as my queue to run right after I muttered a quick two second prayer to the dead who sacrificed its chains for me. I slip right through the bars and saw the ice approach me from my right. Ok, not that way, then this way!

I turned and ran to my left. Not five feet away, I saw the Thing that was making the floor freeze. Maybe they were trying to impersonate a ghost, but that does NOT explain why it was floating a few inches off the ground. Chakra? Maybe. What freaked me out wasn't the fact that it was floating, when it was moving toward me, the cloth that covered it showed no resistance to anything! There was no body under there! As if everything but the torso and up was completely cut off! And the way it moved! I was like a jelly fish! Ok, I've only seen them once but it was a reference! It floated from one side of the walk way and paused for a second before floating to the other side. It was steadily approaching.

Alright, so I picked the wrong direction. There was only one of those creepy things right? Any I did what anybody else would do, RUN THE OTHER FUCKING WAY! No way in hell was I going to stay there and be entertained by that THING! I heard footsteps running toward me. Ok, footsteps. That's one thing I recognize here. Wherever I am. Worse case scenario? Well they just might kill me. At least in that case, I won't be anywhere near that THING!

I turned around the corner and saw people there with very strange clothing. Heck, what do I care? They're humans like me! They can at least become a shield if they can't drive that THING away. All of them were holding a pointy thing. Ha! Like that was going to do anything! They're not even dress to fight! They look at me in shock as I dived into the nearest person and started crying my eyes out. That was one thing I was good at.

"Help me!" I cried burrowing my face into the man's stomach and into his clothes. I the looked up at him and looked back at that THING. It was coming closer along with the frozen floor! I yank at the man's clothes and pointed to the THING crying. Inside, I decided that they were going to die before I even come within a foot of that THING. "Help me! It's coming!"

I kept on tugging on his clothes before deciding that he wasn't going to do anything. Fuck, what useless baggage. I ran behind him and to another person. Maybe this one would be useful. I felt someone pat me in the back before I turned around to see a white mist flying out of the pointing thing. Great, what would mist do to that THING? As sudden as it was summoned, the mist took shape of a stallion and charged at the THING driving it back wards. Maybe that man wasn't as useless as I thought. I turned my heard away and. Began shivering and sniffling like a child to the second person. Might as well play this out right?

XxXxX

I stared at the people in front of me and tilt my head a bit in confusion. Maybe I'm hearing them wrong. Then I turned my head the other way. Maybe I'm deaf? No way. Did that stupid messed up summoning jutsu do that to me? Fuuuck. Ojii-sama is going to kill me for sure. Never mind killing me, he would completely force me to retire from my shinobi career! I frown and continue to look at the people in front of me. I've already surveyed the room when I walked in and there was nothing I could do to escape. I mean, we literally got into this clear box thing and sunk into the ground!

I watched as a woman walked over to the table behind the people and took out a clear bottle and pour it into a small cup. Then she poured something else in the cup before walking over. She did not look at me as she turned to the man in front o me and talked to him. I studied her for a minute. She had a nice shade of light brown hair, almost copper like. It was tucked under her ugly and unnecessary hat. She looked normal enough but her clothes were strange. I could see flowers on it and it constantly bloom and wilted. The cycle repeat itself every minute. And I nearly gasp at her shoes. How did she walk on those pointy things? Did she float like that THING I saw?

I went back to the man she was talking to. Every few seconds, they would send me a nervous glance at me. That was something I have to take note of. Was that poison she put in the cup? Were they going to make me drink that? The man with the weird hat step closer to me. He was short and old. Older than Kakashi-sempai. He smiled at me. He's nervous. Then his mouth opened and formed shapes that I can't decipher. Funny thing is, I can finally hear him now. I can't understand a word he's saying.

Well, all I did was sat there and looked at him confused. What do they want? I mean, they clearly want something. They have yet to tie me down. Probably because they have an army of people in weird clothes armed with pointy sticks behind him. Ha! Like that's gonna stop a fully trained ninja. The man continue talking as I stared at him with a blank face. I watched him get more and more frustrated. I mean, I would too if someone looked at me like I've grown a second head.

XxXxX

Cornelius Fudge was getting more and more frustrated by the minute. Just a few hours ago, there was a security breech at Azkaban. All they found was a girl and a cell that was forced opened. Records had shown that the inmate of that cell had died quite a while ago and nobody had bothered to dispose of the body. According to the head of the Auror department, they found the girl crying her eyes out running away from one of the dementors of Azkaban. For the past three hours, they have been trying to get the girl to talk and tell them exactly how she had broken into the prison. She couldn't have just appeared there. She shouldn't have been able to apparate into the prison what so ever. Even the Aurors, as good as they were, could not get pass the wards that were placed around the tower prison.

He sighed and turned toward the girl again trying to keep the frustration from showing on his face. Fudge smiled but the girl eyed the cup in his hands as if she knew what it was. She couldn't possibly know. Veritaserum looked like water and was tasteless.

"Are you thirsty?" he asked offering the cup. There was butter beer mixed with the truth potion. He would at least get something from her whither she was willing or not!

The girl turned her head and looked at him with that weird expression again. Over the course of three hours, he was faced with that expression like he had tentacles sprouting from his face or grew another head again and again. He picked up another cup with just butter beer. He smiled and offered the cup to her again. This time, she took it and sniffed it before looking at him again with questioning eyes.

"It's butter beer." said the Minister of Magic. "You know what butter beer is, don't you?"

She watched him as he took his cup and drank from it. Fudge felt unnerved as the girl watched him. She clearly knew something but he has yet to figure out what. Her dark hair fell over her icy blue eyes. She was strange.

Fudge watch as she raised the cup to her lips and took a sip. Not even a second later, she shot him a panic look before clutching her stomach. Just what was going on? Before the girl could even swallow, she threw up. Fuck. That wasn't suppose to happen. Fudge's next mistake was he tried to grab her as she stumbled out of the chair and headed toward the elevators. He cursed as the noise in the room began to escalate as all of them tried to catch the girl

XxXxX

I pat myself on the back as I took the up from the man. He want information, clearly. I watched him take a sip and smile at me again. Ha! What a faker. Bile rose to my throat as I sniffed the liquid again. This time, I'm sure I smelled something weird in it. Well, they certainly failed at trying to be deceptive. Well they will not be getting anything out of me without a fight.

I seriously think I made Naruto-onii-sama proud when I threw up the second time that day. I tried, I really did. Apparently, these people with pointy sticks did more than create animals out of mists. I didn't mean to create that much destruction, but I swear I only did about half the damage. Everything else was their pointy sticks. I scrambled out of the chair taking on the expression of fear for a mask. I smiled as I remembered Naruto-onii-sama when he was younger. I was also thankful for my ninja training at the moment. I would've been caught a few times if I was just a regular human.

I laughed as their pointy things shot out beams of light making the desk explode and what not. Ahhh, those poor humans! Unexpectedly, someone grabbed me by the back of my jacket and was holding me still. I struggled for a bit and noticed that the person was raising their stick. Ahhh shiiit. In a fluid motion, I slip out of my jacket and bolted toward the moving box down the hall. I slam right into the closed door and began banging on it. Damn, where's the stairs when you need it? I glanced behind me and saw the people advance on me. Suddenly the door slide open and I fell in. Instinctively, I grabbed onto the person behind the doors and started crying. I mean, who can turn a crying kid away?

XxXxx

"Tonks!" gasped Fudge when he finally got to the elevator. The woman step out of the elevator with the crying girl and glanced at her boss. "Good you're here."

"Did something interesting happen while I was away?" she asked as she survey the damage in the Auror Department.

"Let's speak in the meeting room shall we?" he asked gesturing to one of the bigger rooms in the floor.

The woman with blue hair took a step forward but met resistance by the girl who was grabbing her robes. It really didn't take a genius to realize the girl was terrified of her boss. The idea of being scared of her boss was a new one. Even though he was the Minister of Magic, he wasn't an extremely talented wizard. Honestly, everyone knows that he only got the position because Albus Dumbledore, the most influential wizard in the world, had turned down the position.

"As much as I would like to do that Minister," she started. "this child is clearly frighten of you and refuses to release my robes from her grasp."

The Minister was at lost of words when he saw the tear stained cheeks of the girl from earlier. She glanced at him quickly before starting tugging on the Tonks' robes. She began talking frantically in the language that had eluded Fudge's understanding. He shook his head and turned away.

"When you're done calming her down, Nymphadora, Kingsley will brief you on the situation." he sighed before walking pass the pair and onto the elevator.

As the door closed, Fudge was shocked to the core. In his entire career as a Minister, he never have anyone look at him with pure fear in their eyes. They had always shown respect but there was never a point where they actually feared him. He rubbed his temples and tried to get the image of the girl's face out of his mind. There wasn't much that he could've done in her case but wait it out until Nymphadora Tonks give him her report.

The elevator came to a stop and a woman's voice echoed in the box.

"Minister of Magic and Support Staff. Office of the Minister of Magic. Office of the Advisor for the Minister of Magic. Office of the Senior Undersecretary for the Minister of Magic. Office of the Junior Assisant for the Minister of Magic."

Fudge step grimly out of the elevator. How was he going to keep the security breech of Azkaban from going public? Maybe Dumbledore will have an idea. He always seem to have an idea for just about everything.

XxXxX

Nymphadora Tonks stared at the girl through the glass. She had just been briefed about the situation and had no idea how she was going to appraach it. The girl had spoken another language and could not understand a word she was saying. In fact, Kingsley had inform her that Fudge has asked all the employees that were internationaly transfered here to see if they could identify the language the girl spoke. So far there was no progress what so ever. She was seriously considering to consult one of her many sources to see if they could identify the language. Maybe even Dumledore would know. That man has an answer for everything.


	2. Uhhhh, Nani?

**NOTES:**

**I won't bother translating the japanese used here but I will imply the meaning in the text. **

**When Kingsley is speaking to the OC, the sounds he's making literally sounds like sound. There's a translation for the sounds at the end incase anyone is having problems deciphering the meaning. Have fun and ENJOY!**

-**_italics-_**** Japanese**

XxXxX

Nymphadora Tonks sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Why do the world hate her? It was bad enough that her mother had named her 'Nymphadora' out of all the names in the world. That wasn't even the worse part. Really, on Monday morning, she had hoped to just turn in her report of the haunted house in Dublin, Ireland and head straight home to sleep before work tomorrow. Instead, she met her next assignment before she even got off the elevator! What kind of bullshit is that? Before she even step out of the elevator, she found a crying girl attached to her running away from her boss. At that moment, it was the funniest thing in the world. Now, five hours later, she wished she should've been forceful with the girl and insisted to go home and take a hard earned day off. But nooooo, Cornelius Fudge just have to make the girl bawl even more. Even though the girl couldn't speak or understand English for that matter, she had somehow convinced Fudge to assign Tonks to watch over her through manipulation of guilt. It also didn't help that the Minister had yet to contact Albus Dumbledore for advice in the matter. This is sooo not going to be a good day for her.

XxXxX

Well this is boring. I thought twirling my hair. Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that I enjoy watching these bimbos attempt to figure out what I was saying, I would've broken out of this place a long time ago. Then again, I have no idea where the heck I was. I mean, I kinda got the idea that they wanted me to point to where I came from when they pulled out a map but these people are wacky. I mean, that map wasn't even a map of the Five Elemental Countries. How the hell was I suppose to point them to my home? Then again, I am a shinobi. Why would I point them to my home? They weren't part of my village so they may just attack Konoha for the heck of it. I mean, Suna attacked Konoha a few years back and lost. For what reason? You tell me. War seem like a giant pile of bull to me.

I was pulled out of my daydream when someone had enter the room I was in. I looked up and came face to face with one of the few people that I liked here. I don't know what his name was but he had a nice smile. He was one of the only people who I wished I understand. He was one of those people who you can listen to all day long without even understanding a word he said. He was also the one who had let me play with his cat when I tried to tell him about that misty horse I saw come out of somebody's stick. He must have found it amusing when I was making wild hand movement to show him what I wanted.

"Hai." he said smiling. These people are sooo weird. Why would they greet you by saying 'yes'? I smiled and watch him take a seat across from me. "Arr oo un gri?"

I frowned. What?

"_Nandesuka_?" I asked. What did he say? I wonder if he would understand if I told him he sound like a monkey.

"Nan desk ka?" he repeated slowly. I laughed at the way he said it.

"_Anata wa saru no yō ni kikoeru_!" I laughed pointing at him. He did sound like a monkey!

He looked at me strangely. Ok... that's weird. Why would he do that?

"Arr oo ap am eees?" he asked. Why is he making monkey noises again?

"_Nani_?" I asked. I turned my head a bit. Maybe I heard him wrong. "_Nani_?"

He took his stick out and waved it. Ok... What was that suppose to do? A book appeared on the table and I recognize the stuff on it. He slide the book toward me.

"An oo ee s?"

I picked the book up.

"_Eigo nihongo jisho_." I read slowly. Ok. So I can read it. But what the fuck is 'eigo nihongo'? I understand dictionary at least. There was a dictionary at the library on medical plants. There was also a dictionary on basic taijutsu. I skimmed the book. What was weird was the entries were no longer than five lines. What kind of book is this if it doesn't tell you anything?

I looked back up at the man and frowned at him. Well, I guess they kinda understand me now, don't they? I skim the book again and found a word that caught me eye. Now, for the translation...

"I love you." I smiled. Well, that sound like something similar to what had came out of their mouths for the hours I've been here. I recognize shock in his eyes when I said those three words. I wonder if I had the grammar right? Did I sound weird? Maybe it was because I said the wrong thing. I mean, this is a dictionary, right? I'm pretty sure I said what I wanted to say. Unless this book is made to trick me, I'm pretty sure I said I like him. What can I say? I mean, he's really likable.

I watch him stand up and smile at me again. He held up his hand and said something really fast. I kinda got what he said but the HAND is a universal symbol for stay here or else! Or at least that's what Iruka-sempai does whenever the Academy students are outside. Then again, ojii-sama always use THE HAND to shut me up.

The door to the room opened and I saw the lady I liked walked in following the man. The man spoke and pointed at the book in my hands. Then he continue talking to the lady. Ok. What was the point of leaving the room and bringing back someone that you haven't debrief yet? Sure I have no idea what they were saying but what if I did? Then I would know all of their secrets. Then again, they would be trying to plant false information to me as well. But then again, they might just be over confidant in themselves because I can't understand a word they are saying. I guess you can say that is true along with they fact that they could also trying to make me double think myself.

I frowned and skimmed through the book again. Maybe I can make sense of what they are talking about even if it's just a little bit. The woman muttered something and I felt chakra moved. ok, I'm not stupid and from what I've seen, these people can not possible be able to mold chakra. I hardly felt threatened by them when I scanned the room earlier. Now, just because the woman muttered something, the chakra that's usually dormant in the air _moved_. That was not possible for these people who can't even mold chakra.

I looked up from the book and looked at the woman. When she opened her mouth, I was really expecting gibberish to come out like the last few times.

"_Can you understand me?" _she asked placing her hands on the table and leaning over to me.

I glanced at that pointy stick in her hands. I could feel it. There was still reminisce of chakra on that stick. Is it a medium of some sort? Like a seal? I remember Naruto-Onii-sama explained the concept to me. Seals are like a catalysis for natural chakra. They are created with the chakra formed in our bodies initially before relying on natural chakra to continue working. It just need the chakra human create to ump start the seals. That could be possible. But I wonder how much damage these weird people are causing this world by relying on it to produce natural chakra?

"_Hey, can you understand me?" _the woman asked again. I started at her blankly and glanced at the man who I liked.

"_Yes." _I said slowly before closing the book. This is strange. How are they able to talk to me when they had no understanding of me a couple of hours ago? What did they do?

"_Alright, I understand that you are confused of where you are but I'm going to need to ask you a few questions. Try to answer them as clearly as possible." _

Riiiiight. Like I'm going to fall for that one, baka! Do you really think I'm going to spill everything just because you ask? Yea, right! Well, I'm gonna do what shinobis do best and milk you for all your worth. You might just end up slightly more than useless.

I nod at her hiding my inner glee. Ohhhh, this is going to be fun messing with her head!

"_OK,_" she said sitting down. "_By the way, are you hungry?"_

What are you going to to? Make me eat something and it's gonna force me to tell you everything? Sorry lady, Naruto-onii-chan's crazy teammate already made me into a guinea pig with that medicine of hers. Thank the heavens it wasn't her finished product!

"_No." _I said leaning back in the chair. I am a ninja of Konohagakure! We do NOT accept food from anyone! Especially if they're as weird as you!

_"Are you sure?"_

Honestly, at this point in time, I really just want to scream 'OF COURSE I'M SURE' but I really need my 'confused, good girl' image so I just nod. They are really making this difficult for me, aren't they? Especially when they're irritating.

"_But you haven't ate anything at all. We don't even know how long you were in the prison until we got there. But if you're sure…."_

Of course I'm sure woman. I'm not stupid. I can sense chakra being used once I got there. You probably knew how long I was there for anyways. Besides, it took y'all a good half an hour to get there and that's tell me that you were already aware of the fact that I appeared there. Stupid jutsu.

_"I'm sure." _

_"Alright. Well, why don't we start with your name?"_

_"Ummmm, I don't remember."_

_"You don't remember?" _She looked at me with disbelief in her eyes. It would really be much better if she would just believe me. Then again, the heavens would probably think that that was too easy. Nooooo…. They really want to watch me go on with my life as they make it difficult for me.

_"I don't remember." _I said frowning. I scrunched my eyebrows a bit and created my confused look. I didn't look at her as I rest my chin on my wrist and stare hard at the table.

_"Alright," _she said quickly. She might be thinking that I might burn a hole through the table. Well, that would be interesting to see, wouldn't it? Well, that is if I could ever make that happen. _"Do you remember how you got yourself in Azkaban?"_

_"What's Azkaban?"_

_"It's the wizard prison we found you in."_

_"What's a wizard?"_

She stopped and looked at me weirdly. I mean, I know I fool around a lot but that was a serious question! What the fuck is a wizard? Am I suppose to automatically _know_ what a wizard is? OK, so I don't know but that does not give you the right to look at me like that!

_"Why don't we continue this tomorrow? You look tired. You should get some rest."_

_"You still haven't answer my question yet. What's a wizard?"_

She paused. If she was a ninja, she would've know not to pause and give me an answer immediately as so keep me from suspecting anything. No, she got to think about what a wizard is and lie to me. She isn't even looking at me. You're gonna regret lying to me lady.

_"A wizard is a classification of criminals." _she said after a few seconds. _"They are extremely dangerous. It's best if you stay away from them."_

She got up and left the room with the man. That was the worse lie of the century! A classification of criminals? Is that all you can think of lady? Really? I bet an academy student can do better than that! Criminals are criminals. There's no need to classify them. After all, they all eventually get a death sentence.

XxXxX

Tonks walk out of the room and left Kingsley to lock the door after her. She glared floor as she marched to the elevator and head to Fudge's office. Really? Did he really do that to her? Did Fudge purposely land her with an assignment that's a muggle? Not that she mind muggles but what she did back there could've blown the entire cover of the magical world!

Kingsley Shacklebolt followed his colleague. He wasn't going to ask her what she found out. They were going to Fudge's office anyways. He would find out there. At the same time, he would have to prepare himself from being strangled by the metamorphmagus if he leaves her with a horrible assignment.

XxXxX

**1. Hi….. Are you hungry?**

**2. Are you Japanese?**

**3. Can you read this?**

**Thanks for ready and please review!**


	3. Hiii Creepy Mist Man

**NOTE: THE LOBBY AND RECEPTION AREA OF THE MINSTRY OF MAGIC IN ON LEVEL 8. THE HIGHER THE NUMBER THE LEVEL IS ON, THE DEEPER UNDERGROUND IT IS. **

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at the spot where his adopted granddaughter had been. She was gone without a trace. There was still reminisce of chakra still in the air where she had been but his granddaughter was gone. Earlier that day, after all the unnecessary council meetings were said and done, he had decided to give her a summoning contract. It was his very own, to the Monkey King Enma. She had been pestering him for weeks on end about a contract seeing how her best friend had gained one a few weeks ago during the Sound-Sand Invasion. He hadn't expect Naruto to have taught her the hand seals for summoning contracted animals, believing that she did not have enough chakra to do any harm. To be honest, that was what Sarutobi was expecting as well. He didn't expect to see his granddaughter preform a summoning jutsu to only have it reversed. This wasn't the first time someone had reverse summon on him, like that one time with his student, now Sannin, Jiraiya. He was gone for a few hours so maybe that was what had happened to the girl. He should give it a few days. The girl is unusually cunning.

He smiled at the small patch of grass where his granddaughter had been moments ago. Maybe the village will gain another powerful contract. If that was the case, the village would become known to the other villages as one with the most contracts in the shinobi world and the most feared. On top of that, there will also be an abundance of income because of the fame. He really shouldn't worry. Most summons aren't violent when they first meet a human that has traverse into their world. Even Manda, the great snake, was curious of his protégé, the protégé that failed him…

Hiruzen walked away. Even though he was confident in his granddaughter, there was a small seed of doubt in his mind that told him different. Locking that doubt away in the recess of his mind, he walked away with a smile. If anyone can get a contracted summon, she can, and she will. That was how the Third Hokage of the Fire Country felt when he walked back to his office. Now that his excuse for leaving work was gone, he was forced to face the ever growing stack of paperwork waiting for him on his desk.

**XxXxX**

A small click and receding footsteps was the passage to my freedom. I lift my head from the table where I was 'napping' on and looked around. Nobody was in the room, but that doesn't mean nobody was on the other side of the door. I reached into my weapon pouch and pulled out a small mirror. Those fools, they have no idea what they're dealing with. Who in their right mind will leave a ninja with all their weapons and tools on them?

I slip the small mirror under the door and turned it. So far, I haven't sense anyone and the mirror hadn't caught anyone either. Well, good news for me, I don't have to worry about anyone seeing me bust a door open. Or should I pick it? Hmmmm, decisions, decisions…

Another small click lead my way out of the damned room I was locked up in. I mean, it wasn't that it was horrible. The table made quite a pillow. According to Iruka-sensei, usually POWs would be bound in chakra chains and beaten for information. These people don't see me as a POW so what am I? Should I even care what they think of me as? It don't matter. I'm leaving this underground office. What's the point of having an office underground anyways? A calculated earth jutsu can make this whole place cave in.

I step outside the room and looked around. The desks that were full of people were empty. On every desk, was a feather in a jar with what seems like ink? There was also a whole bunch of paper scattered around each of the desks in small letters. Some letters I recognize because they were on mission scrolls and some commercials. Others, I didn't recognize them. They were written in neat little rows going from right to left. Too bad I can't read them. It would be good to get some more information on this place. I step quietly pass the rows of desks and headed toward the hallway where the moving box was.

The hallways was empty and quiet except for the sound that sounds like pencil scratching on paper. I didn't realize how big and empty the hallway to the moving box was. It was full of people when I had first step out of the box. Why didn't these people put stairs in this building? I have no problem with stairs. This moving box might kill me if I kick it. I took another look at the hallway and went to stand in front of the doors to the moving box. I remember one of the men pushed one of these two buttons to summon the moving box. It didn't help the fact that the man was wearing long sleeves when he pushed the button and I couldn't get a good look at which one.

I know, Iruka-sensei! Mistakes like these can kill you. I'm pretty sure you drilled that into my head before you allowed me to graduate and it would help if your voice would stop echoing in my head whenever I make a mistake! I push one of the button in the wall while Iruka-sensei in my head was getting to the end of his lecture. Did this happen to everybody who was in his class at one time or another? A few seconds later, there was a small ping and the metal doors slid open revealing the inside of the box. Alright, now my plan is to NOT piss off the box and drop to my death.

I turned around after I step inside the box and waited. The door closed behind me. Wasn't this stupid thing supposed to move or something? I stood there a while longer before fear began to creep into my head. The box was trying to kill me! It lured me into a trap and won't let me out, not to mention let me leave this accursed place. I looked around panicking trying to find a way out besides the metal doors that were impossible to open unless you were Kakashi-sempai's weird friend that seems to be able to do anything if it had anything about strength. There was no way I could pry apart those metal doors no matter how hard I tried. My eyes landed on a set of small silver buttons beside the closed metal doors. Shit I feel stupid. In my defense, I am claustrophobic! (*cough, cough*)

Ok, now what? I see a whole lotta silver buttons so which one do I press? There was small numbers engraved into the buttons. Ok. Now think Saiyuki… if I were to have an office with a lot of floors underground, where would I put the entrance? Ok. If Ojii-sama's Hokage tower have three stories, you would normally label the lowest floor number 1 right? And if you reverse it, the floor closest to the surface would be called number 1. Alright, so all I have to press is the button that has number 1 on it. The button was cool against my finger when I pressed it. The moving box rumbled and I felt it begin to lift. Ok, I did something right.

The box ping and the door began to open. Before it was even fully opened, I start mashing the buttons on the side of the box. That was definitely NOT the way out! The door revealed another office but it was similar to Ojii-sama's office back home. Large and spacious. I really hope nobody saw me. There was no way that was the way out! I saw the place where we came from. There was a whole lot of fireplaces with people popping out of them. I'm not lying! There was also a huge fountain in the middle with weird animals and one of those people in even more weird clothes and a pointy hat. He was also holding a stick.

I door opened again and I saw the office I was in a few moments ago. Come on! My escape mission can't be failing already! I mash the buttons again hoping the door would close faster. I can't risk anyone recognizing me from earlier. The buttons beeped at me before the box stopped moving. Well fuck… I didn't just break it did I? I frowned and stared at the silver buttons. Well, it can't hurt to try again but it may just be my last chance to use this thing before it completely break on me while I'm in it. I continue to stare at the buttons. They were all warn but was polished. I can't be smart and figure out which one of these buttons was used to most to determine which floor was the exit like Naruto-onii-sama's friend, Haruno Sakura. She was always the smart one out of all of them even though I think all of them are pretty smart. Naruto-onii-sama was smart because he could do this thing that makes paperwork appear at Ojii-sama's office after a few hours without getting caught in the act.

I continue studying the buttons wondering what would Haruno do. She would probably pick level 10 but for some reason, I feel that I shouldn't press it. It seems like bad things happen on that floor. It's almost like the feeling I get whenever I walk near the T&I Department back home. The people there are nice but I heard that people change once they enter the building. One of Ojii-sama's Anbu guards told me. Well, the best choice after that would be button number 9. If that fails, I can always turn back and go to number 10.

I pressed the silver button and the metal doors slid to a close. The box rumble once again and the box descend. On every floor, the box announced which floor I passed in that strange language. I started to see a pattern in the announcements. I passed level 8 and the announcement that came from the box was short. It didn't start with the usual 'dei par en'. Instead, it was really short and I nearly missed it. The elevator continued to drop to level 9. It resumed its long announcement when the door opened to a long black hallway.

Well? Isn't this interesting? I could feel my ninja instincts tingling. Ok, fine, maybe it wasn't my ninja instincts. Cat instincts, ok? Cause I'm curious. I step out of the box and watched as the doors slid close. This should be fun. I walked down the hallway. I don't know what the floor was made of but it seems like it really wanted me to be heard, no matter how softly I step on the ground. I was forced to coat my shoes with chakra and welcome the silence. The long hallway eventually lead to one door. Strange as it may be, I did what any sensible shinobi would do, even if it would blow my cover. I drew a kunai ready to react of necessary.

The door opened and the lead to a circular room. The floor looked like water. A genjutsu, perhaps. Wasteful though. The door closed behind me and there were eleven more doors with no handles. Suddenly, the room began spinning. The thing that was odd was that I wasn't moving at all. Another genjutsu to disorientate me huh? Well, I'll play by your rules for a little while longer. The room stopped spinning and I step forward toward the door in front of me. Let's see what's behind you, door number 1.

The door opened and I stepped inside a dark room. It was spacious and empty with the exception of a stone arch in the middle of it. I heard whispers coming from beyond the arch. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I recognize some of those voices. The voices of people who were no longer here. It didn't feel like a genjutsu at all. In fact, the place feels like it was alive yet not alive. Almost dead like, but alive. On one side of the arch, you can see right through it. On the other side, looking through the side that was facing the wall, you can almost see figures in wisps of smoke. The smoke would sometimes take form, while other times, it disappears and fade into nothingness. It was interesting to watch but I didn't have time to stand and stare. As much as I wanted to stay, I was running out of time. I was about to head out of the room when I heard another person step into the room. It wasn't possible. The room had only one door. I was facing it. The sound of the next step located that person's position, behind me.

I whirl around and came face to face with a figure made of smoke. He step out of the portal and looked around as if he had no idea where he was. He was wearing a cloak, longer than the Anbu cloaks I've seen them wear from time to time. The cloak also have sleeves which is strange for a cloak. The hood of the cloak covered half his face. A few seconds later, he sudden realize that he was not the only one in the room. I was there and I became the center of his attention. Great! Just great. He took a few steps toward me and stopped right in front of me. I've learned a few moments ago that he could not be hurt by solid objects.

"Hello, Saiyuki-chan." the figure hissed. He spread his arms out as to gesture the entire room. "Just what on earth are you doing in here, child?"

"How do you know my name?" I demanded taking a step back. I was pretty certain I never gave anyone my real name even after they found out that I remember it. "Who are you anyways?"

"I'm offended, Saiyuki-chan. I though you would've remembered me out of everyone else."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm so sad, Saiyuki-chan." he said looking downcast. Then he looked up at the ceiling as if he was looking for something. "I'm so sad we've run out of time, but I have just enough time to warn you."

"Warn me of what?" I asked slowly. I felt it completely stupid when I just realize he was speaking to me. He was speaking in my language.

"I'm sorry to be the one to inform you, but I was hoping you would at least forgive the Master. I wish to inform you that you will not be returning to your previous world anytime soon. The Master wishes you to help him but none the less he cannot help you return until you help him. You also have a choice. One of us shall visit you again but for now, you need to leave."

He turned around and started to head back to the arch. Slowly, he began to fade back into mist again.

"What's your name?" I asked watching him as he stopped right in front of the arch. His legs had already disappeared and his torso began to fade.

"Kei," He smiled as his neck began to disappear. "My name is Kei."

Then he disappeared and the room became quiet again. I wondered who he was but I couldn't remember if I've ever met him. I turned and ran out of the room. He was right. There wasn't much time and I need to get home as soon as possible. I really don't think these people would let me leave just like that.

I threw the door open and step back into that circular room once again. I was going to grab the first door I saw but the room begin to spin again. Well damn. The room stopped and I grabbed the first door I saw. One thing for certain, it didn't feel like the door to the room from before. I step inside and found a room that was lit with stars. Well, I know they weren't stars but they look like it. The lights twinkle like stars. What was strange was that there were clocks of every kind in this room. Why do these people need clocks? I'm sure they can tell time by looking at the sun if they actually tried. It's not hard. Telling time with stars isn't very hard either.

This clearly wasn't the exit I was looking for. I was about to leave when I found something that caught my eyes. There was this thing in a clear glass jar. I have no idea what it was. Never even seen anything like it back home. That thing seems to age and then turn back to a baby before aging again. Strange jutsu. If this jutsu can be applied to humans, it would be scary to even image the damage that would happen. A jutsu like that would annihilate one of the Elemental Countries without trying. It would be like fighting the undead. You can't kill someone that is already dead or have died several times over. Continued watching the thing grow old and young again and again. This jar continued on the cycle.

**XxXxX**

And today, the cycle continues. Getting up promptly at 6am, shower; wash up, breakfast, and heading to the central fireplace of the house before work. Aaron McCarthy sighed as she grabbed a fist full of Floo Powder and threw it into the fireplace. He scrunches his face slightly as the green powder fell out of the fireplace. Eh, that was going to stain the carpet. The house elf can take care of it. He waited until the fireplace was roaring with green flames before stepping inside of it.

"Ministry of Magic, London." he said clearly.

Seconds later, he step out of another fireplace and headed toward the elevators pass the semi-empty lobby. There were a few people who were early but they actually have a reason to be there. Unlike him, he was one of those 'Unspeakables' that was researching taboo subjects. Why did he apply to this field? All he did day in and day out was researching a subject that the world refuse to open up to him. Over the past ten years he had been in the Department of Mysteries, there has been no progress made in any of the departments. Just what in the world are they doing wasting their talents away in a field that is taboo to even god himself? Even if they were magical, they weren't gods. Why are people so obsessed with the power taboos have? He would never understand that. He was perfectly content with the way he was living except for the fact that he was wasting his talents away. Heck, he could've been creating the next big thing! A new spell, maybe? Or even a new potion.

McCarthy stepped into the elevator and made sure no one was in there before his hand trailed down the row of buttons on the side of the elevator. With a small click of the button he was on his way to the Department of Mysteries, a floor down from the lobby. As always, it was routine for him to arrive early to avoid the eyes of others and forced the ride the elevator several times before he got to his destination. The door slid open revealing the hallway to his office. He walked down the hallway and through the door.

He stood in the circular room and waited for the room to spin in its usual course.

"Time Chamber." Aaron said waiting for the correct door to open. Why didn't he try for the position of Auror? At least then, his life would probably be more eventful. Aside from the invention of time-turners, that was the only progress his office had made.

He walked into his office. The dancing lights don't even amuse him anymore. He was just about to settle in when he realized he wasn't alone. There was a girl there in the Time Chamber a little ways off from his office. Sure he had asked for something more interesting but he wasn't willing to stake his head for it.

"What are you doing here?" he asked pulling out his wand. The girl turned around and smiled.


	4. Welcome to the Burrow

**Hey! Sorry for the long wait! And thank you RaeRae14 and Brenden for the reviews! This is a long chapter cause I really want to wrap up the intro. **

**I also DO NOT own Harry Potter although I would like to own Tom Riddle. Lolz! Anyways, Enjoy!**

The box ding and I was shoved into an office. Well, it wasn't any office. It was the office of the short, plump man with the weird hat. It was a weird office. We had to move through two other offices before getting to his office. Apparently, the man with the weird hat was a leader of some sort. He could order people around cause that's what he did to the two people in the offices before his office. He said something and they left the room even though the lady that had the most unhealthy complexion and figure gave us a look that I didn't like. She was as plump as an Akimichi and her face looked like someone had dropped her too much when she was a baby. Even so, that did not explain her bad choice in clothing. I thought the rest of these people had on bad clothes but she was wearing a dress that looked a bit tight on her. I've never really seen someone who was fat and not an Akimichi. I think even the Akimichi Clan would agree with me and call her fat too. Anyways, that was beside the point. The point is: I don't like the look she gave to the group of people I was with. It was a look that was dangerous to shinobi universally. That look was the look of someone who was planning to meddle into my business. I should eliminate her before she becomes a problem.

I was shoved into a comfortable chair and watched as these people began talking. It always started like this. When people don't know what to do, they always begin talking. Their voices slowly got louder as they debate on what to do. I assumed this was going to be something similar to an interrogation. In fact, this would probably be nothing short of an interrogation. They were a disorganized bunch that couldn't even put together a proper interrogation without noticed. I glanced over at the man who was supposed to be my guardian. With the exception of that man, these people weren't capable of anything significant. That man and the woman with the changing color hair was the only people not talking. They were similar to statues at this meeting. They didn't move. They didn't talk. All they did was observe. That I find it an acceptable action for the people who failed to watch me, even though I am thoroughly amused at the situation.

I watched the proceedings. Everybody was doing what I've seen civilian children do. They were pointing fingers. Shinobi children were discouraged to do that by the time they were beginning to learn words. Not only does pointing fingers reflect immaturity, it also destroys the trust in your comrades, the foundation Konoha was built on. Trust was everything to Konoha. The village did not rely on deceit and blackmail to rein in loyalties. That was the quality other villages didn't have. Comrades trust each other in missions to complete it effectively. People in power, like these civilians in front of me, will crumble with the right amount of push and pull.

The noise in the room began to escalate and their fool of a leader failed to gain dominance in the situation unlike any leader back home. He was weak if he can't even control his subordinates to a degree. It was pathetic. Ultimately, he failed as a leader. He did not know how to wield the power he had at his fingertips efficiently. I wonder if I would even have the pleasure of meeting someone with that ability if this man, the leader of this nation, was all that this world can offer to me. I frowned. If I was anything close to some of those power hungry individuals at home, I would kill this group as soon as I laid eyes on their stupidity.

I prop my elbow on the arm of the chair and rest my head on my fist. Why must they continue this meaningless chatter? They should really get going with the interrogation. I'm hungry. I don't know their language so I can't say anything. Maybe I can. Then, maybe I can grasp my situation better. I wonder if they can understand me. The woman earlier with the color changing haired woman understood me. Actually, she didn't understand me. She did something with her stick and I felt chakra stir in the air before she began talking in my language. I wonder….

_"Why are you so loud?" _ I asked staring up at the group in front of me. I spoke in a soft voice that wasn't meant to get anybody's attention. Alas, Fate decided I was to be heard. The group of civilians froze at my voice and turned to me. I smiled softly and pointed nonchalantly at the man with the weird hat. _"You are a foolish leader. You cannot even rein in your own men at times like these."_

They stared at me. Was I that hard to understand? They must have yet to do the thing the color changing woman did. I studied the look of bewilderment on the face of the leader. He gape at me before quickly rearranging his expression to that of someone who tries to command attention. I felt chakra stir in the air before it focused on his stick that he was holding now. I smiled slightly, careful to keep my expression in check. I am a shinobi. Like some, mind games are my forte.

_"Good, uh, its morning now isn't it? Or is it afternoon?" _I asked politely assessing his expression.

_"Hello, dear." _he smiled. Why don't the games begin? _"How are you feeling?"_

_"Besides a bit confused, I would say I'm feeling fine."_

_"That's good, my dear."_

I looked over the group. They wore looks of confusion as we spoke. A few smart ones decided to do the same as their leader to understand us. Those only include my so called guardian, his partner, I should say, the hair changing woman, and another woman. They others were oblivious to us. I frowned as I look over my surroundings once again.

_"Where am I?" _I asked putting a mask of confusion over my features. Truthfully, I was curious of the answer.

_"Great Britain."_

_"And that is where exactly?"_

_"On the edge of the European Continent."_

Eur-ro-pea-n? Con-ten-ant? I wonder what those were. I supposed I should find out sooner or later.

_"I see. What am I doing here?" _

_"That's what we would like to know. Are you suggesting that you haven't a clue yourself?"_

_"No idea."_

_"You don't remember anything?"_

_"Besides the fact that I don't belong here, no."_

_"What do you mean you don't belong here?" _question the woman who I did not recognize. I looked at her straight in the eye. She was frowning and wasn't trying to hide it.

_"Simply because I don't understand why I am here. I figured you would know because you brought me here."_

_"Do you remember how you got here?" _she asked.

_"No."_

I closed my eyes for a second reflecting on my plan of action. I remember how I got there. It was stupid of me to forget. I messed up…big time. Stupid summoning jutsu. Why did particular jutsu messed up when all the other worked fine. They weren't perfect the first time around but they did not back fire on me like this. I refrain myself from frowning at the thought. What would Ojii-sama say if he found out? Naruto-onii-sama would feel guilty if he found out that I royally screwed up on the jutsu he showed me. I wouldn't blame him. I saw him preform it _and_ I wanted a summoning. I practically copied his jutsu so he didn't necessarily _teach_ it to me.

_"Minister," _said my guardian. _"Perhaps the girl's memory is affected by the accidental magic that brought her here. I suggest we observe her for the time being until she regains her memory. Our answers would be answered then."_

I frowned at the fact that he even suggested that while knowing that I can understand him. What a civilian mistake.

_"Who do you think should look after her for the time being, Shacklebolt? I would suggest you but you have your duties to the Minister of Great Britain." _Asked the leader. I wanted to knock that weird hat off his head. Good news was I finally learned the name of my guardian-no-more. Shacklebolt. He was acceptable. I tucked this information in the back of my mind for later use.

I swear, Fate play a funny hand from time to time. While this so called Minister was pondering a solution, a man with red hair walked into the office. I turned in time to see that Akimichi wanna-be woman attempted to peer in. Her frown was contagious. Almost everyone else in the room with the exception of the fool of a Minister and the woman from earlier frowned at her as she attempted to invade. Thankfully, the red head had shut the door behind him once he was in the room cutting her off.

_"What good timing!" _exclaimed the Minister? I watched as the red head's expression turned into confusion. Then the leader started talking in his own language once again. "Weasley, I have just the task for you. Please look after this girl for a while. She has amnesia from preforming accidental magic and I thought maybe some time with children her own age would speed up the process. Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"

"Excuse me?" gasped Arthur Weasley.

"You will be compensated of course." Added Fudge quickly. "Shacklebolt here will brief you."

With a happy sigh, Fudge quickly left his office. That turned out better than he expected. Besides, he was running late for a lunch-on.

Arthur stood there flabbergasted. He had originally come to Fudge's office to address a certain issue about legalizing flying cars but instead, he got handed an assignment. Everyone else was filing out of the office now that their Boss had made a getaway, Everyone, with the exception of the girl, Shacklebolt, and Tonks. Arthur Weasley just stood there, frozen in shock.

"Arthur, are you alright?" asked Shacklebolt slowly. Arthur slowly turned to the Auror and started at him with his mouth slightly opened.

"What just happened?" he asked. Tonks, who stood beside the girl just laughed.

"You've been handed an assignment from the Minister." Laughed Tonks.

"Why? I'm pretty sure someone else us just as capable."

"Well the Minister asked you." She said.

XxXxX

I looked over at the smaller group now. This time, it included the red haired man. I studied their faces as they talked. The red haired man was shaking his head and his eyes had already made a decision of some kind. I pretty sure he was to be my new guardian. His eyes told me he was reluctant. I studied all of them. I closed my eyes and decided I should at least try to put a word in for myself. I got out of the comfy chair and walked over to the group.

_"I don't need a guardian. I can look after myself, thank you very much." _I said coolly. The red headed man jumped. Wither it was the sound of my voice or the language, I did not know. He continue to look at me confused before I just gave up. All I did was stare at him now. I saw Shacklebolt take the man aside and continue talking in hushed whispers. I stayed quiet as I observed them. Then the man came up to me minutes later with a sad face.

_"My name is Arthur Weasley." _He said smiling. From the looks of it, it looked forced. _"I am to look after you for a while."_

_"My name is Yue." _

He sent a sparing glace at the two others.

_"It's almost time for lunch. Why don't we go to my house? You can meet my family." _He said holding out a hand. I stared at the hand. What am I supposed to do with that? He had given me no reason to shake it and I was old enough where I don't need someone to drag me throughout a building. Sensing my discomfort, Arthur-san dropped his hand and smiled again. _'You must be hungry. I heard from Kingsley you have yet to get a bite to eat once you got here."_

_"Kings-ley?"_

_"Mr. Shacklebolt."_

Shacklebolt: that was a name I know well. It was the name of the dark skinned man who was once my guardian.

I nodded and followed him from the office. I stared at the Akimichi wanna-be lady as we walked passed and she smiled a cruel smile back. Her attention turned from me to Shacklebolt behind us. From the tone of her voice, she was craving information. Too bad we left her office before I could attempt to grasp what she was saying. I was ushered into the metal box again and watched as Arthur-san pressed the button with the number 8 on it. the metal box lurched and I felt it slowly dropping. Having been forced into this box several times, I would assume it was like the lifts back home in the quarries and mines. The only difference was the fact that the lifts only have a lever as a control while this metal box had multiple buttons.

The box dinged and the door slide open. I immediately recognize the room we step out in. It was the floor I was looking for initially. There were a lot of people walking around the large open space here and there. There were fireplaces just like I remembered and people were running in and out of the green fire that was there. There were also some people who seemed to disappear on sight, almost like a teleportation jutsu. The ones that appeared out of nothing didn't appear in a poof of smoke. It was similar to the teleportation jutsu but at the same time, it wasn't. They appear and disappear with sounds that ranged from small pops and loud cracks. The pops sounds like someone stepping on an acorn while the cracks sounds like a whip.

Arthur-san held out his hand again and smiled at me.

_"Please take my hand Yue. We're going to apparate straight to my home if you don't mind." _He smiled. I looked at him with questioning eyes.

_"Apparate?" _I asked. What the heck is that? I watched attentively as the man tried to use a combination of gestures and words to describe the word. Eventually, he gave up and pointed to someone in the crowd. Then, that person disappeared. _"Oh, teleportation."_

_"Yes! That's the word I'm looking for. It's very similar to teleportation."_

I nodded before taking his hand. I wonder how he was going to do it. Did he require hand seals to perform the jutsu or did he need his stick? I still find it questioning as to why these people would depend so much on a stich for their protection. It was breakable.

Seconds later, I was once again forced into the worse experience every. The feeling of being forced into a tube that was too small wasn't comfortable. This is, by no means, teleportation. The teleportation jutsu at home is solely dependent to speed and stealth. This so called 'apparate' is ripping through the barriers of time and space to get to a certain destination.

I stumbled away from the man once I felt air return to my compressed lungs and looked at my surroundings. We were in the countryside with some occasional rolling hills. A small distance away, there was the most bazaar building I've ever seen. It was tall and looked like a collection of different houses stacked on top of each other and reinforced. It was strange. Do all people here live in places like this? I wonder if the interior were any better.

_"I know it's not much but its home. Come on. I'll introduce you to my wife. Only my youngest is home right now. I have a feeling that you two will get along. My other kids are either out of the house or at school."_

I followed him toward the building. As we got near, I saw a chicken coop and a barn like structure. I followed Arthur-san into the building through a door in the back. I heard a clock strike it's time as he entered the house and I followed. The smell of strange edibles filled the house as I walked in. From what I saw, the house was a cluster of random objects arranged against the wall. I saw a clock with pictures of people with red hair for hands and words around where the numbers would be. From where we entered, the room led directly to the kitchen of the house. In the kitchen, I saw a woman bustling about with a girl next to her. They were speaking in their language. She turned and smiled at Arthur-san. She had a questioning look in her eyes when she saw me. She then began talking to Arthur-san before smiling back at me.

"Hello, dear." Smiled Molly. "You look starved. Would you like something to eat?"

"Molly, she don't speak English." Said Arthur quickly. Molly shot a glare at her husband.

"It would've been nice if you told me that earlier!" she hissed.

"Sorry dear. Her name is Yue, by the way and she speaks Japanese. A simple translation charm should do the trick."

I ignored them and walk over to the kitchen. Whatever was cooking, no matter how foreign, it smelled really good. It's been 16 hours since I've last ate. My stomach was begging for food but it was bearable. I looked around the house peeling my eyes away from the knives that were chopping up onions by themselves and a pan that was cooking what looked like soup. I step out of the kitchen and back into the room we were just in. There was a large dining table. There was enough seats to fit 12 people. Was it really necessary for that much space? Then again, Arthur-san did say that some of his kids are in school. Maybe they did have a lot of kids. That was uncommon. Back home, it's usually only two children per couple at the most.

_"Yue," _called the man. _"come and eat."_

I walk back into the kitchen and saw the table was already set. Of course, Arthur-san sat at the head of the table and the girl; I supposed it was his daughter, sat beside him on the left. On his right, it was an empty spot but I assumed it was for his wife. I opted for the spot right next to the girl. Once I sat down, a plate was placed in front of me. I smiled at the woman as she put the food on my plate.

I waited until they all had started eating before I decided I should start. I glanced down at the table and saw those small silver utensils that everyone was eating with. I picked one up that looked like the tool a farmer was using during one of my D-ranked missions. I picked it up and examine it. Ok. Now what? I looked over at the family of red heads and watched as they talked and ate. They were holding the silver tool like a pencil. Alright. Then they stab the meat? Is that right? I looked down at the slices of beef on my plate. I look at the tool again before deciding I should probably stab it. Ten attempts later, I finally got the meat to hang off of the tool long enough for me to eat it. I also gagged at the amount of grease in the slice. I force it down with a glass of water before heading over to the next thing on my plate. Hmmm, how should I describe it? It's white and thick. It's almost like a bean paste substance but white. There was also a brown sauce over it. I scooped some of it into my mouth and let it roll around in my mouth. It was a kind of starch, almost like a potato but it wasn't the right color for potatoes. It was good but eating a lot of this foreign food wasn't going to be good for my stomach.

XxXxX

"Good morning!" came an overly happy voice from the other side of the room. I look over at the girl with the shoulder length ginger hair and frowned. Shouldn't she still be sleeping? I glanced at the window. The sun hasn't even risen yet.

"Ohayogozaimasu." I replied back in a flat voice and a small bow at the head. I opened the door to out room and headed down the stairs. I haven't have any proper exercise yesterday. I can't slack off or even the academy students will surpass me. I reached the bottom floor and looked around. Nobody else should be awake. I should be fine. I walked silently to the door and looked around it. I don't see any traps. The thing that bothered me was the fact that there was chakra concentrated at the handle. Or maybe I should say it was the entire door itself. What else bothered me was the house was filled with chakra. Well, I wouldn't say it was filled. I saw what they did with those sticks yesterday. The sticks draws on what seem like the pitiful amount of chakra these people have and amplify the effect with nature chakra that resides in the air. I wondered what they did to the exits to make it concentrated with chakra like this.

I shook my head and decided. If they think I am a civilian child, I might as well act like one. I assume people here won't stand at the door and stare at it for a long period of time like I am doing right now. If I was back home, someone would probably sense the chakra that's cloaking the door and guess what I'm doing. I sighed and going against my instincts, I grabbed the handle and opened the door. I paused for a second, tense, ready for any trap. Seconds later, nothing happened. Ok, maybe I was freaked out for nothing. I step outside and closed the door behind me. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't mind if I went out for a run.

I spotted a nice patch of grass a ways from the door and began stretching. Alright, I know. In battle, no one in their right mind would tell their enemies to wait until they stretch before fighting. Well the thing is, I'm not fighting right now and I need to burn the excess energy I have pent up in me from the day before. I wonder how Ojii-sama is putting up with the fact that I disappeared. Would he go and ask Naruto-onii-sama about it? He wouldn't blame Naruto-onii-sama would he? I'm pretty sure he wouldn't.

I looked toward the rolling hills. There weren't any trees there for me to do any really practice and hide my abilities. I stretched out the muscles on my arms before starting a light jog. I want to be as far away from anybody before I go all out.

The assortment of stacked houses disappeared over the horizon. I dropped my arms and let them hang from my sides as I began to run. The wind swept through my loose clothing and brushed against my face. It wasn't anywhere close to back home but it was something. I smiled as I jumped and cartwheeled through the air. I gave up control to the earth for a few seconds before landing lightly on the balls of my feet. Oh, if only I had trees. They didn't have to be as big as the ones back home but they were something. I was slightly aware of the fog that began to elope me. I slowed down, fully aware now that I realize the fog was forming something. I came to a full stop when the figure became solid wearing a Shinto (Japanese priest) outfit. Their features became clear as the fog receded from their face but cling to his clothes.

_"Good morning, Saiyuki-chan." _Smiled Kei. His light hair fell over his eyes. Was it just me or did the stars seem to shine brighter? _"How are you faring?"_

_"Kei,"_ I greeted back. _"Are you here to explain why I am here and how I'm going to get back home?"_

_"Ahh, something like that." _he said laughing lightly as he scratched the back of his head. _"The Master allowed me to stray from my job for a while. Anyways, I have until dawn. Do you have any questions you want me to answer?"_

_"Plenty."_

_"Well, why don't we spar and talk? I'm sure you would like to work out a bit."_

I frowned. Whoever, whatever he is, he knows more than he should. How did he know? What did he know? I honestly don't like the idea that I could me a pawn. Heck, back home, I was nobody's pawn! Everyone else was MY pawn! I refused to be played like a toy.

_"If you're sure." _I smiled. Maybe I should floor this THING to oblivion and back. That would take care of it, wouldn't it? I smiled cruelly and focused chakra at the soles of my feet. This would teach him! In a fraction of a second, I disappeared and appeared as close to him as I can get. Chakra surrounded my hand as I aim to jab him in the stomach. I'm really interested in what would happen if it hits. Would it blast him away like it would do normally?

_"Saiyuki."_

I flinched as hands, cold as ice, grabbed my wrist and cut off the chakra that surrounded it. I looked up at that handsome face.

_"Are you trying to kill me, Saiyuki-chan?" _he asked with a smile. What can I do to wipe that now annoying smile off his face? I jumped back ripping my wrist from his hold. For someone who seem to be entirely composed of fog and mist, he was surprisingly solid. _"Why don't we just stick to tai-jutsu?"_

I nodded as I began my assault again. I have no idea why I felt fear. There was something about him that made me fear him. To be honest, even though this was the second time I've met him, he was nice. His personality was pleasant but it was under all of that I feared. It felt like home. Even though all the shinobi at home was relatively nice, there wasn't a shred of doubt that they weren't dangerous. The instinct I've developed in Konoha kicked in. I didn't want to anger this guy. Who knows what he would do if I did? And would his so-called Master be even more dangerous? I shuddered at the thought as I blocked a punch with my arm. I jumped back creating a small distance between us as I used to few seconds to nurse my stinging arm.

_"I came here to inform you that my Master would like to meet you."_

I nearly froze when I registered what he said.

_"He wants to discuss the terms on which you are to return to your world. He is convinced that you're the only one who can do this."_

Do what exactly?

_"He will meet with you a month from now."_

_"Where?"_

_"You remember the place where we first met? You have to go back to the Ministry of Magic. In the elevator, you are to go to the 9__th__ floor. I'm sure you will remember how to get there. Once you are in the circular room, request for the Death Chamber. Once in the chamber, just pass through the Veil and I shall meet you there to guide you the Master."_

_"A month from now?"_

_"Yes, on the 24__th__ to be exact. I will meet with you once it gets closer to the date. We can discuss details then, but you must meet with the Master. He doesn't like to be kept waiting."_

I nodded and lowered my hands.

_"Well, my time's up. I should get back to work. I'll see you in a few weeks, Saiyuki-chan."_

I watched as the mist and fog gather toward him and he faded away.

I didn't have a choice in the matter. I don't like being a pawn but I don't have a choice. They were stronger than me. I don't have the power to oppose them. They have all the pieces. This 'master' have the way to get me home. I don't want to be stuck here in this world. This place is as strange as it is even though these people are weak. The thought of dying here instead of home, where I would die for the future of Konoha was as unappealing as the dirt on the bottom of my shoe.

A loud crack resounded throughout the surrounding hills. I turned in time to see a red headed man land on his two feet as it he was suddenly dropped. Arthur-san.

"Yue," he said. "What are you doing out here? It's dawn."

I racked my brain for the right words. Yesterday, they were kind enough for me to bring along the dictionary Shacklebolt had given me earlier. This red haired family had even allowed to access to their books to use as a source for grammar.

"Go run." I said after deciding that it was the correct choice of words.

"You were running?" he asked slowly. I frowned. Did I really seem that incompetent enough where he had to slowed down his speech to ensure that I catch every word?

"Yes."

Was it that strange to want to exercise early in the morning? Besides, I'm pretty sure it was good for civilian health whenever they do some sort of light exercise.

"You should've gotten something to eat first. Molly was worried when you set off the alarm this morning." he said putting a hand on my shoulder and steered me back to the mismatched building. So that chakra concentrated on the door had set off something that alerted these people that I have opened the door huh? Maybe I should try the bypassing them without setting it off. It shames me that I have done something so stupid. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've shame the entire shinobi population in all of the Elemental countries for doing something like that. That was even a worse feeling than disappointing Ojii-sama.

After ten minutes of walking, Arthur-san stopped.

"Why don't we apparate back home? I'm sure Molly would want to know what had happened as soon as possible."

Without another word, I was forced, one again, to experience the compression of every molecule in my body before popping back into existence a few yards away from the door to the stack of houses. His hand left my shoulder only after we had entered the kitchen.

"You could've waited until after breakfast before you run off, dear." smiled Molly-san as she bustled around the kitchen waving her pointy stick here and there. I watched as she waved her stick at a cutting board. The knife that was there started chopping negi (green onions) into small pieces to be sprinkled on top of stuff. I watched as the frying pan flipped something that looked like bread into the air and catching it.

"Sorry." I mumbled ducking my head. I was saved when I heard the sound of footsteps running down the stairs. The girl, Ginny, I think her name was, popped into the kitchen and shredded the atmosphere as if it was paper.

"Good Morning!" she beamed. "Are we going to pick them up today?"

I approached the cutting board with the moving knife. I attempted to follow Ginny's conversation but there were too many words I didn't understand. I picked up the knife that had stopped chopping and examine the blade. It was an old knife but it was good. It was made out of good steel. What would I give if I had a kunai that was made from steel like this? I looked at the negi that was left over. There was still a lot that wasn't cut up.

"Dear,"

I was turned around and faced the concerned face of Molly-san.

"You shouldn't be holding a knife. It's dangerous." she said emphasizing on the 'dangerous' part. I'm not stupid. I know what a knife do. _Baka._

She was about to snatch the knife from my hands when I turned back around the picked up the negi. Well, I like a lot of negi on my food.

"Molly, I'm sure she just want to help out." I heard Arthur said from the other side of the kitchen. "And I'm pretty sure she knows what a knife is."

You got that right. With Molly-san distracted, I started chopping the negi finely. Once I was done, I wipe down the knife and left the pile of negi on the cutting board. I drifted over to the frying pan and watched. I could almost feel Molly-san's eyes follow me throughout the kitchen. The eggs were cracking themselves over the frying pan and making something like a very large eggroll. I lost interest after the second batch of large eggrolls.

I walked out of the kitchen to Molly-san's relief and sat down at the table. I pulled out the dictionary and the book I was translating. I wasn't wanted in the kitchen and I didn't have the permission to explore outside right now. I rather not get on the bad side of my hosts so early.

"I can't wait." exclaimed Ginny as she sat down next to me. "My brothers are coming home today. I'm going with mum to pick them up. Ron told me that he was best friends with Harry Potter! You know who Harry Potter is, don't you?"

"Who?" I asked. Sad to say, I can only follow half of what she's saying.

"Of course, what am I thinking? You're not from here so you wouldn't have heard of him. He defeated You-Know-Who when he was a baby! He's the Boy-Who-Lived!" she said as her mother placed plates full of food in front of her. I was glad Molly-san was convinced that I couldn't eat a whole plate in one sitting. I can't become a glutton while I'm here. Excess weight will only slow me down. Not only that, it would make me conscious of the needs of my stomach more than the needs at hand.

"'You-Know-Who'?" I repeated. Sorry but I don't have any idea of who she's talking about. Honestly, these people and their weird choice of titles.

"I'm doing it again, aren't I?" she asked. "Well, You-Know-Who is the famed Dark Lord of the century! During the war, he killed so many people! Wizards and muggles alike."

"Muggles?"

"Non-magic folks."

Like that explained anything.

She groaned and leaned her head back on the chair, a habit she developed since yesterday when she couldn't explain something to me in a way I could understand it. I pushed my dictionary toward her to find the word and I can read the translation. She smiled sheepishly as she flipped through the pages trying to find the word.

"Here it is." She gave the book back pointing to the word. Maho, that's magic. Ok. That's very similar to jutsu. So muggles are civilians in a way, right? But I'm going to have to assume civilians here don't have access to their chakra like these pointy stick reliant people do, no matter how little.

Now going back to what she was saying, this so called 'Dark Lord' [for an added effect, please pronounce it Dar-ku Lor-do in your head! =)] killed a lot of people. Ok, so? At home, shinobis kill every day. What's wrong with that? Besides, I'm pretty sure a Dark Lord with a name like 'You-Know-Who' can even phase Kakashi-sempai in the number of people killed in their entire lifetime. I bet Kakashi-sempai's younger too!

"Do you understand now?"

I nodded. Honestly, I think this dude is a complete wacko.

"Anyways, like I was saying, Harry Potter defeated You-Know-Who when he was a baby! Nobody knows how he do it but You-Know-Who left a lightning bolt scar on him marking his forever as the Boy-Who-Lived!"

I tone out of her chatter as I focus on the food in front of me. I bread looks good but the look of the liquid that Ginny poured over hers looked sickening sweet. I could almost feel the fat on my tummy forming just looking at it. I think I'll just eat the bread as is. There was also giant eggrolls [they look like mini omelets] on the side. It was glistening with grease. I can burn that off later today when I'm allowed outside. Besides the giant eggrolls, there were strips of meat that was fried to a crisp. Was it supposed to be that way? Lastly, there was some more bread that was crispy on either side. It was cooked in a way where the sides became golden yellow. Maybe I can ask if I can make my own food. A supposed light breakfast was heavy with grease. I pity these people who ate nothing but food soaked in grease. I'm not saying that I don't eat grease but I don't eat it in excess.

I watched at Arthur-san kissed his wife and left the house in a jolly wave. He was going to work. He was my ticket to meet the 'master' in a month.

"Since you're going to be staying with us for a while," started Molly-san. "After breakfast, why don't you and Ginny go find some of her clothes you can fit into? You can come with us to London to pick up my sons."

Clothes, that was something I needed. I didn't have anything else to wear besides what I'm wearing now which was a fishnet shirt. My chest is bounded by bandages thank you very much. A dark blue short sleeved jacket that is now zipped up half way and normal dark blue long pants that's bound at my ankles with more bandages. My headband is tied to my arm like a Nara. I look so out of place with these people. My medium sleek black hair, which I am proud of and NO, I am NOT an Uchiha fangirl, is tied to the side at the nape of my neck. My bangs framed my face.

"Thank you." I said as I place the eggroll in between the not crispy bread making it into a sandwich thing. I ignored the weird look the two females of the house gave me as I bit into the sandwich thingy. Hey, it ends up in the same place anyways.

XxXxX

Well, that was something. I have no idea how long it took them to convince me that the hunk of metal in a shape of a carriage was going to fly and take us to this London place. Now that we were in this, what did they call this village, a city? Anyways, I was ushered into a crowded building made of red rectangular rock that seem to be hollow into a place where large metal carriages were joined together like a caterpillar that move on metal rods on the ground. I remember a merchant talking about them once. They were called trains. There weren't many in the Elemental Country and the merchant was saying how his friend in the Snow Country boasts about how he receive his shipment due to the train there. In this building, I was surprised at how these rare metal carriages seems to gather there. The only thing I have against them is the fact that they are sooo loud. No wonder the Fire Country don't have one. It would become a clear weakness if another war breaks out.

As we walk further inside the hallow building, I noticed a particular support structure that was coated with chakra. It wasn't hard to miss. I was about to approach it when Molly-san grab hold of my shoulder.

"No so close dear," she said. I honestly think this woman want to stop me form doing anything! Are women here as annoying as she is? I hope not. I appreciate her thoughtfulness but I don't think a major support structure like that was going to hurt me in anyway.

Seconds later, I saw people walking out of the chakra coated support in small groups. Oh. That's why. I look more closely at the support. If I focus, I could see wisps of chakra like the Hyuugas. Every time someone came out of the wall, the chakra around it rippled like a genjutsu trying to arrange itself. Suddenly, my arm was yanked by Ginny as she jumped up and down, almost screaming with excitement and pointing at a group of three.

"Look, Yue, it's Harry Potter!" she exclaimed. "There he is! Look, mom, it's Harry Potter."

Molly-san shushed her daughter and approached the group of three. It consisted of a boy with red hair. I assumed that was Ron from the red hair and Ginny's earlier conversation. There was also another boy with black hair and he was skinny. If you look close enough, you can make out a lightning shape scar from behind his bangs. I watched as he survey us quickly. Ron had only glanced at his mother and sister before his eyes laid on me. I ignored him as I look at the girl. She looked like the people from outside of the station. Plain, that was the only way I can describe her.

I was drawn out of my thoughts as a deep gruff voice cut in. It was a man that put the Akimichi wanna-be lady to shame. In fact, the boy behind him that was looking at use had put her to shame. For some reason, I think the fat around the man's neck must be cutting off his supply of oxygen. That must be the reason why his face was purple. It was strange why the tall woman that was with the fat boy seem to look fearful at us. These must be the 'muggles' Ginny was talking out.

I look at the large boxes on wheels the group of three had with them. On one of them, there was a large white owl. I've never seen one that looked like that. Where do white owls come from anyways? I approach it and it gave me a weird look. The feathers look so soft. I put my finger through the cage near its face and tapped its beak. It hooted and muzzle my finger. I was eventually petting the top of its head with my finger.

"Excuse me," came a voice. I looked up at the boy with the black hair. I gave him a blank stare. "I have to go now."

"Sorry." I muttered pulling my finger away. "Shame its in a cage."

I walked back to Molly-san who was have a conversation with another couple. Behind her, there was a group of other people with red hair talking animatedly. Ginny practically dragged me over gushing about how I spoke with Harry Potter. To be honest, I was curious of how a baby killed someone like a Dark Lord, what ever that was. Did he accidentally shove poison down his throat?

"Ginny," said on of the older boys. He looked very similar to the boy next to him. Was it a bunshin? Maybe it was a kagebunshin because they look exactly like each other but they were both touching other things. They were real unlike normal bunshin which are illusions. "I didn't know you have friends."

That was mean. One of the clone slung an arm over my shoulders and smiled.

"So how did you convince mum to bring you along?" asked the clone that was touching me. My eyes narrowed and I grabbed hold of his fingers before twisting his arm off my shoulder. He gasped in pain before I let go. Huh, he's not a clone. "Fred!" it cried. "This little pipsqueak nearly broke my fingers off!"

"Come on George, how much damage can she do?" laughed the clone. Wait, maybe it wasn't a clone. I've heard of phenomenon like this. it was rumored that babies that were born at the same time with the same mother could read minds.

"Stop bullying her!" cried Ginny frowning at her brothers. Or at least I think they were her brothers.

"Can't you see it's the other way around…" said one of them.

"…dear sister?" finished the other one.

"I only ask…"

"…who she was and…"

"…she almost broke George's finger…"

"…off completely."

"Mum! Fred and George is bullying Yue!"

I frowned at the girl. Was she so dependent on her mother to fight her battles for her?

"Be nice to our guest!" warned Molly-san before going back to her conversation with the couple. I do believe they were the parents of the bushy haired girl that was talking to the youngest red haired boy. I zoned out of any conversation until we approached the car. I watched amazed as the metal carriage was able to swallow four large boxes into its storage compartment and seven people in the main seating area itself. It must be that maho thing with the pointy stick Molly-san was doing with the cooking.

Once back at the building that seemed to be houses stacked on top of each other, I was pelt with questions that I can hardly understand. Ginny was distracted with the youngest red head cause she was asking him about the black haired boy, Harry Potter. I didn't see why a skinny boy can be so important to her life. She reminded me of Naruto-onii-sama's weirdo friend Sakura whenever the bird head Uchiha Sasuke was mentioned.

Thankfully, Molly-san was able to distract her sons by presenting them with a table full of food. Because the sun was high, I was allowed to leave the house and explore the surrounding areas. I find that stupid but my opinion wasn't needed. I hope by the end of the week, I'll be able to sneak out to train.

I found a deserted spot away from those rock like creatures that seem to reside in the garden. There was too much going on today and too much in my mind to organize it. I slowly went over the stances in all the taijutsu I knew. From what Hinata-nee-sama told me, it was best to make sure you match the stances slowly and correctly. With practice, speed and force can topple anyone bigger than you. The need to seal chakra pointes wasn't necessary to inflict pain. I was a nice thought that Hinabi didn't snitch on us when Hinata was teaching.

"Why are you dancing out here?" came a voice. It was the same voice from earlier. One of the red haired look-alikes. I turned around and frowned. Never mind, both of them were there.

"Not dancing." I frowned.

"So you do understand us!" exclaimed the other. He had a slightly deeper voice than his look alike. "So…"

"…what are you doing?"

"Practicing." I said slowly making my body imitate the correct form of the next stance.

"Practicing.."

"…what exactly?"

I didn't reply. Well, that conversation confirm my suspicions. So they can read each other minds. Good thing they weren't ninjas, otherwise, they would be a force to reckon with.

"So we heard…"

"…from Ginny that…"

"…you tried to run away."

I frowned. "I was endurance test."

"You mean…"

"…testing your…"

"…endurance right?"

I paused for a second. "Yes."

"We also heard…"

"…that dad found you…"

"…ten miles away."

"That don't sound…"

"…like an endurance test…"

"…to us."

I ignored them and continue on. Maybe I should add them to my Beat-to-Oblivion list. They should fit perfectly after the 'Master' and Kei, once I get my hands on them, that is.

"Hey George,…"

"Yea, Fred?"

"Those look like fighting moves right?"

"I think you're right!"

"Do you know…"

"…how to fight?"

"No answer." I replied quietly as I flow into the next stance. They didn't say anything else as I finish up. I relax my breathing and accepted the cool breeze that brushed my skin. I must say, I really hate these civilian clothes. After I relax, my expectation of the look-alikes to disappear was not met at all.

"So are you just dancing then?"

One of them attempt to imitate a punch toward me laughing. I knew he was joking. I couldn't control my instincts, especially when the fist had come extremely close to my face. I didn't mean to retaliate, my body just react. I side step the punch before grabbing the sleeve of his shirt. My brain was processing information as fast as it could. The boy was bigger than me. The best option would be to throw him off balance. The best way to do that was to kick his feet out from under him. I could only stare as I watch the red haired clone fall onto the patch of grass at my feet. He gasped as his head hit the ground. Shit, what did I do?

I scrambled to help him up. If he had hit his head as bad as I thought he did, he's brain is gonna be rattled for a while. I grabbed his hand and yank him on his feet. Once he could stand on his own, I immediately bowed and started spouting apologies. They should really forget about this incident. I didn't really mean to retaliate. Fuck, I didn't mean to offend them. What would happen if they told their parents? As much as I like exploring, I hated that office place. I really don't want to go back before I have to. Ahhh fuuuck. Why meeee?

"What are you apologizing for?" came a voice. My head was stilled bowed so I didn't see who spoke. It wasn't like I could tell the difference anyways. "That was…"

"Bloody awesome!"

What? Did I hear that right? I raise my head and was met with the two boys with shining eyes. That was weird. It was almost like Naruto-onii-sama whenever he doesn't have to pay for ramen. These two seem to glow, and I mean _glow. _Their eyes were all sparkly and they did something that I thought only Naruto-onii-sama was able to accomplish. They somehow made the world seem brighter. It was as if the sun is in sync with them and decided to shine brighter even though it was about to set in the horizon.

"By the way, I'm Fred." 'Fred' said holding his hand out. He was the one who I tossed onto the ground. "I must say, I didn't expect you…"

"…to throw him like that." finished the clone. I assume his name was George. "You have…"

"…got to teach us that!"

I rubbed my temple. Even though the clones are in perfect sync, they made my brain hurt from trying to find fault in them. The thing is, I found them all right but my acuteness

s for details made my head hurt.

"Are you alright?" asked George. I was still rubbing my temple. I stopped and looked at them.

"Loud." I muttered as my head stop pounding.

"Sorry," Fred said smiling sheepishly. "That's just our nature."

I shook my head. It wasn't their fault. I blame it on this fuckin bad day.

"Going back." I muttered as I turned around hastily to get back to the house. I really didn't want to reveal any more of my abilities so I walked back to the house in a steady but fast pace. apparently, my brisk walk wasn't fast enough because the clone have managed to catch up and drape their arms over my shoulders weighing me down. I was forced to slow down.

"Where are you going in such a rush?" asked Fred putting more weight on my shoulders. I must say, the weight don't bother me but they don't need to know that. I felt like throwing them again. From their attitude as of right now, I believe I am well within my right to do that, no matter where I am. "We have more questions for you."

"Yes, like what's your name?" asked George.

"Or why did dad get charged with you?"

"And where did you learn to fight?"

"Are you willing to teach us?"

"How about where are you from?"

"Are you a friend of Ginny's?"

"Are you a muggleborn?"

"Are you going to Hogwarts the coming up term?"

I swear, I was about to go insane and kill these two. They were nice, I give them that, but annoying as hell. Why can't they leave me alone? I wish I was home. That way, I can dump them in the Forest of Death for a few hours and hope I won't have to see them for the rest of my life. I admit it's a bit cruel but whatever to get them to shut up! Anything for them to shut up! If only Naruto-onii-sama was here. In turn, he would annoy the hell out of them. I frowned. How come the house isn't any closer?

The next few seconds were the happiest I've been since I got here. I was about to make a live offering to Kami-sama because he sent a sacred shoe to my rescue! OK, maybe it wasn't so sacred. It was old, dirty, torn, and smelly. _I _can smell it from 10 ft away, and that is saying something. You have no idea how relieved I felt when that sacred shoe went smacking into the back of George's head. And being the-awesome-ninja-that-messed-up-a-summoning-jutsu -and-landed-herself-in-the-most-bazaar-situation-e ver, I had to look in the direction the shoe came from hoping one wasn't aimed at me next. Thankfully, my eyes landed on Kami-sama.

"Just when I thought there was another girl in the house, you two just had to kidnap her and harass her!" shout Ginny. She had another shoe in her hand and she threw it with surprising accuracy, compared to a civilian that is, to the other clone, George. She marched over and grabbed my hand, dragging me away from her brothers. "Come on Yue, you don't have to hang out with the twins."

Ahhh, twins. That's what those real people clones are called. At least now I have a word for them instead of calling them look-alikes and what not. I smiled, grateful the girl had help me make my escape. Until tomorrow.

**Please REVIEW!**


	5. The Soul in which the Gatekeeper Needs

**AN: For those that are confused, the Third survived the invasion. There is a reason for that. Also, the more Naruto aspect of the story would not come in until later on. Sorry to disappoint you! Like I said, there's a reason for that. Any questions, feel free to let me know! Thanks!**

The clouds float by carelessly across the bright, clear sky. The birds passed over a village but continued on their way home. Below, hidden in the trees, was a village that was hailed as the strongest. There were many people lingering around the village repairing the damages from a month ago. It been years since a village had come face to face with betrayal. All the villagers understood treaties don't necessarily mean peace forever. It had always been a formality before someone breaks it. It happened during the Chuunin Exams. The village was in a state of shock. Not because of the invasion. No, they expected that, somewhere in the back of their mind. Something had happened that was perceived as inconceivable, an incident that had almost destroyed their entire belief. It was about the demon. The demon had saved the village from destruction.

Away from the prejudice, a boy who can easily be mistaken by Kami as Apollo rests beneath a shaded tree. Beads of sweat dripped down brow as a cool breeze brushed his face. The bright orange jacket he usually sported was thrown aside. All around him, there were residue of water balloons everywhere. Somewhere, a bird sang its song and the clouds float along on their unpiloted path.

Not far from where the boy laid, the clapping of wooden sandals approached. The traveler was a person every male should know. The famous novelist, Jiraiya walked toward his apprentice wondering where he had wondered off to. He knew the boy had ran off early in the morning to train and hone his abysmal chakra skills in order to attempt to learn the Rasengan, whereas he had to nurse his hangover and empty wallet. The old man walked leisurely as he attempt to locate his apprentice. His hangover has yet to leave him in peace.

Back at the clearing, the Apollo reincarnate slept in the comfort of the trees. In his dreams, he dreamt of a girl with dark hair and icy blue eyes. For him, she was his sun, not the other way around, no matter how much she insisted. In his dreams, he heard her laughter as she ran through a field of grass, egging him to catch her if he wanted his new set of kunai back. Then, as sudden as the rain, she disappeared. The field turned dark as night appeared. As long as he searched, he could not find her. She disappeared.

With a jolt, he woke, back in reality. The dream was as real as it could be, as close to reality as it could get. She had disappeared. He didn't know how or when. He just knew she wasn't there when he was fighting Hyuuga Neji in the last stage of the Chuunin Exams. Even after the invasion, Old Man Hokage was too injured to tell him anything. In the end, he was somehow swept into this mission with Jiraiya, one of the Three Legendary Sannins, to locate another Sannin, Tsunade. He had only agreed because he could look for his best friend, as well as learn a new jutsu, and to find the person that can help heal the Old Man along with Sasuke. He was positive the Old Man knew where Saiyuki was.

He shook his head. She hated her name. She had always insisted everyone called her Yue.

"There you are, Naruto." came a voice. Naruto looked up and saw Jiraiya, the one who taught him how to summon a toad. The one who actually taught him a decent jutsu. "Come on. I've just got word that Tsunade is in a nearby town."

He nodded and picked up his jacket.

"I see you've been practicing." commented his mentor.

"I can't pop it fast enough yet." he said throwing on his jacket.

"You'll get it in time. Now come on, slowpoke. We can't let Tsunade escape us again."

"I know, Ero-sennin."

**XxXxX**

I sat there on a bed that wasn't my own. The boy who owned the bed was running around the room as discretely as possible throwing things into a large box. His hair, much like my own, nearly covered his eyes as he rushed from one end of the room to the other. It wasn't that big of a room. In three steps, one can travel from one wall to the next. By the opened window, his snowy owl hooted with anticipation. Outside the window, the flying carriage of the red headed family floated there. Inside was the twins, as they called themselves, Fred and George. The youngest brother of the family was also there by the name of Ron.

I watched as clothes, books, and feathers were dumped into the box. Now I'm pretty sure you're wondering the same thing I've been wondering about ever since I've been woken up in the middle of the night, why am I here? That is the question. Why on earth am I here? I have no idea. The older boys in the car probably decided it would be fun to drag me along for the ride. Well, one thing for certain, I did enjoy the ride. Now if you asked wither I enjoy where I am right now, I will tell you straight out, no. As a matter of facts, I am currently sitting on a bed with springs nearly popping out of them and in a messing room watching a boy with black hair, green eyes, and a strange scar on his forehead running around trying to pack. From what I can guess, this escape plan isn't premeditated.

I rolled my eyes at the sound of creaking from the other side of the house reached my ears. Did I hear right? Did someone wake up? Well, took them long enough. I mean, this so called Harry Potter is oh-so discrete in packing.

"You better hurry up." I said looking at the boy in front of me. "Someone is coming."

"Uncle Vernon." he muttered before he began moving even faster.

The footsteps stop on the other side of the door and the door was banged upon.

"What are you doing in there boy?" came a loud voice. "You're supposed to be in bed! Don't make me get in there and throw you in the cupboard!"

I watched as the green eyed boy ignore the warning and slammed his box closed.

"You ungrateful brat!" hissed the man on the other side. There was a shuffle of keys and the mechanic clicks as keys were jammed into their keyholes.

The famous Harry Potter grabbed his box and hauled it toward the window. The back storage area of the car opened the he shoved his box in the compartment before slamming the door shut. Just when he was about to grab his caged owl, the door to his room flew in and the fat man I saw at the train station stood there looking as purple as ever. His small eyes flew to the boy first, finding the boy near an open unbarred window with a car floating outside the house. Then his eyes landed on me.

"Boy!" the fat man howled as he lunged into the room. I got out of bed and went to bar his way. "You!" he screamed. "Why are you in my house? This is breaking and entering! I can sue you for trespassing!"

I grabbed his arm and twist it behind him.

"And I need to, uh, what did you called it? Sue? You for assault." I said pinning him down applying a small amount of pressure to his joints. I glance over him and caught the green eyes staring at me. "Will you hurry it up?"

He jumped before handing his bird to his red headed friend and hopping in the car. The fat man was huffing in pain.

"You're going to regret this girl." he hissed. I applied another small amount of pressure to his shoulder and his hissed in pain.

"What can you do?" I asked. Once I saw the black haired boy in the car, I released the fat man with a shove and walked over to the window. Then, with a small leap, I jumped into the open car and landed lightly on the seat. "Well, I hope you have a nice night." I said to the man that was now on the floor of the messy room. I shut the door behind me just as one of the twins drove off into the sky.

"Blimey, Yue!" gasped Ron. "You have got to teach me how to do that!"

I glanced at him and frowned.

"No more so than I would to teach your brothers." I sniffed. "I really don't appreciate the fact that you woke me up from my sleep to drag me into this reckless rescue mission! Does the word premeditated mean anything to you?"

"Oh shut up, Yue!" groaned Ron. "I liked it better before you learned English!"

"Well, next time don't drag me into another mission of yours!"

Fred and George glanced at each other before deciding against interfering with the conversation.

"Who is she?" asked the newcomer. His best friend turned toward him and whispered, glad that the girl had jumped into the front seat of the car, away from them.

"Her name's Yue." whispered Ron. "Dad brought her home when we were still at school. He wouldn't tell us why but I supposed she's a charity case or something."

Harry looked at the girl in the passenger seat that had handled his Uncle Vernon. She was definitely smaller than him and he wondered what did she do to make his uncle kneel in pain like that. All it looked like to him was she had restrained him. Even doing that was amazing. He turned back his attention to Ron who was arguing with his brothers about how his favorite Quidditch team was going to advance in ranking this year.

**XxXxX**

"Where have you been?!" came the worried, screechy voice of Molly Weasley as the group of boys attempted to sneak back into bed. Seconds later, one by one, they were tapped on the head with a hard wooden spoon as she began her lecture. "Beds empty, no note, car gone! You could've died! You could've been _seen_. Your father could've very well lost his job because of you three!"

"We had to mum!" whined Ron as he rubbed the sore spot on his head. "There were bars on his windows!"

"I'll put bars on _your_ windows, Ronald Weasley, if you don't be quiet!" she hissed. As quick as a snake, she turned toward her twins. "And you two! I thought the idea of being older brothers would've influence you to look after your younger! Not only did you failed to do just that, you tagged along and even offered to _drive_ him there? Are you mad?!"

Harry stood in the kitchen frozen. Ron had told him his mother did have an explosive personality when angered. The glanced around the kitchen and realized the girl wasn't with them. As if on cue, the girl, Yue, her name was, walked into the kitchen from down the stairs. How'd she get up there? He swore she was just right behind them when they entered the house.

"Ah, welcome back boys." she smiled viciously. Her smile reminded him of Draco Malfoy, especially the time when he had caught Ron, Hermione, and him with Hagrid and his dragon one night.

"What are you talking about?" hissed Ron. Harry didn't even have to look to know his friend was spitting fire. "You were with us the whole time!"

The twins stayed quiet. They knew better than to test their mother about such things. They stuff their questions for their friend in the back of their minds later. They've known her for a month and a half now and they weren't going to make her their enemy anytime soon.

"Unlike you, Ronald Bilius Weasley, she was in bed!" screeched Molly tapping her spoon hard on her youngest son's head. "If you were in bed where you were supposed to be, you wouldn't be in this situation!"

Unwilling to admit defeat, he turned to his twin brothers.

"Why aren't you two saying anything?" he demanded, a little weary of his mother's weapon of choice. The twins shrugged. Throughout the years, they've learned to stop digging deeper graves after getting caught, that is, if they get caught. "Harry?"

Molly, finally turned her attention to her guest.

"Hello, Harry." she smiled.

Harry could only smile as she addressed him.

"You look tired." she commented. "Why don't we get you something to eat? Yue, if you don't mind helping me set the table?"

"Yes, ma'am." smirked the dark haired girl. Harry could only watch as his best friend nearly pulled his hair out as the girl walked pass them.

Once Molly Weasley was out of reach, Ron grabbed his brothers and dragged them to the other room. Harry followed eyeing the dark haired girl.

"Why didn't you help me?" he hissed. Fred looked at his brother as if he was a strange creature. George just smiled mischievously.

"Well," started George. "We would help…"

"…but aiding Yue is in more of our best interest…" followed Fred.

"…than aiding you."

"But I'm your brother!" argued Ron. "How could helping her help you in any way?"

The twins just smiled and headed toward the table Yue had set.

"Can you believe them?" gasped Ron at Harry. "They abandoned me for a complete stranger!"

"She can't be much of a stranger if they side with her." he said. Ron stared at his friend.

"Are you taking her side too?"

"No, I'm not."

"Well, it sure sounded like you were."

"Come on Ron, I barely know her. In fact, I just met her today!"

"I bet she's blackmailing Fred and George. I mean, that's the only way they would ever let someone get away with anything."

Harry shrugged as he sat at the table. A plate of food was placed in front of him along with Ron who sat across from him. He only started eating after he say Ron and the twins digging in. Yue sat down across from the twins with a plate of her own. He saw her smile at them as she began to eat.

Soon after, the door opened and a clock chimed. Arthur Weasley was home.

"Good morning lads!" greeted Arthur as he put up his cloak. "And good morning Ladies!"

There was a chorus of 'good mornings' thrown about in the room.

"Arthur," said Molly as she went to kiss her husband. "You would not believe what you sons did last night."

"What did they do?" he asked. No matter what, he couldn't seem to prevent his sons from getting themselves in trouble.

"Your sons," started Molly. "took that car of yours for a drive last night."

Arthur stared at his plate for a minute before looking at his children.

"No really?" he asked. "How'd it go?"

He immediately became the receiving end of Molly's towel for that comment.

"Arthur!"

"That was very wrong boys." amended their father quickly. "Very wrong!"

They just smiled at each other. At least their father was more forgiving.

"So, Harry Potter," smiled Arthur. "If you don't mind, I have some questions for you about muggles."

"He's obsessed with muggles, dad." smiled Fred before eating again.

"Um, alright, sir." said Harry wondering what kind of questions he would have to answer. Yue just watched the proceedings on the side.

"What, exactly, is the function of a rubber duck?"

With the exception of the clanging of pots and pans and a muffled cough, Harry was stunned by the question. The function of a rubber duck. How on earth was he going to answer that? He never had a rubber duck but he sort of got the concept of it from what he saw on TV.

"Um, well you see…" started Harry. Seconds later, a loud screech interrupted him. He was grateful for the old barn owl that flew smack into the window.

"Errol, he's always doing that." explained Ron as he mother went to retrieve the poor owl. The owl was carrying letters from Hogwarts.

"Looks like Dumbledore knows you're here, Harry." said Molly as she took the mail. She handed the letters out to each of the kids at the table.

"Blimey!" exclaimed George looking at his list. "Someone's a fan of Lockhart."

"Those are some expensive books on the list this year." muttered Molly as she read the supply list. "There's only one place to get all of this, Diagon Alley."

"You can go shopping tomorrow." said Arthur glancing at the supply list. "Yue and I have a meeting at the Ministry today."

"That's right." muttered Molly. The boys all turn to glance at the girl who had been silent the whole time. "I've set your clothes out on your bed, dear. Finish your breakfast and you can go."

"Thank you." muttered Yue finishing her special made, low grease breakfast.

She ran up stairs and headed toward Ginny's room where she slept in.

"Ginny," she greeted as she passed by the youngest of the Weasleys. "Your famous Harry Potter is downstairs."

"No way." she smiled as she glanced down the stairs. "There's no way he's here. You're pulling my leg."

"You'll just have to see." smiled Yue. "Well I have to get to the Ministry. I'll see you later."

"Yea, see you later."

**XxXxX**

This is the seventh time I've been to the Ministry of Magic. The Atrium was as crowded as I remembered. The green fire places were constantly being lit up and people were appearing and disappearing from them. There were also people that were popping in and out of the place too. All of them had to walk through a check point and give their sticks to the lady that sat there before going through. Arthur-san had to do that too. I waited. I am patient. Soon, I will have to make my way to the Death Chamber. The so called 'Master' was waiting for me. He said he could send me home if I can do something for him. I watched as the crowd of people hurried passed us. Most of them stood in front of the silver doors of the so-called elevators. Soon, I can begin my plan. They won't be aware. I waited there in front of the silver doors, waiting for the sound that would signal me to begin. The lift made their distinct noise as the door opened. As a courtesy, we waited until the people got out of the elevator first. Then, I released my genjutsu.

I didn't even bother to check if it worked. The cease of noise in the room was evidence enough. I quickly got into the elevator and pressed the familiar silver button with the number 9 carved on it. The doors closed immediately as I glanced at the frozen face of Arthur Weasley. Five minutes. That was all I have. Following Arthur to and from work for a few days paid off. On top of putting everyone in the building under a illusion, there was a schedule lockdown that just happened to move up in the schedule.

The silver doors opened and lead me to a plain hallway. I've been here before. It was the same hallway from last time. The only difference it was the middle of the day instead of late at night. Unnatural sunlight filter through the ceiling. At the end of the hallway was a black door. Yes, this is definitely the place. I opened the door and stepped on the circular platform. The door closed behind me and the room begin spinning. I remember Kei telling me that I can request for the Death Chamber. That way, I won't waste time trying to find it.

Seconds later, a door opened.

The room was the same as before. An arch covered by a tattered old blanket with whispered voices coming from it. Around the room, there were some people frozen in place. There was still three minutes left. I approached the arch and waited. The moth eaten blanket fluttered at an invisible breeze. Then mist crept into the room from the arch. Then, Kei step through the arch and pass the blanket. He looked around and his eyes zeroed in on me. His lips curved to a smile.

"Saiyuki-chan," he whispered. He held out his hand. I placed my hand in his, careful not to flinch from the icy touch, less I offend him. "Come, the Master is awaits your arrival."

He lead me up the steps and through the arch. Right when I passed through, I felt my genjutsu broke. At the same time, I was suddenly met with an overwhelming amount of chakra. Sad to say, I was forced onto my knees due to the pressure and the dense air. If I wasn't a shinobi, all I would've felt was slight pressure on my body. Now, I felt the threat of the overwhelming amount of chakra threatening to tear my body apart and rip my soul into pieces. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Kei, just standing there, unaffected, watching me. His priestly robes fluttered at the chakra but it didn't bother him. He lived, no thrived, in this realm. I am a mortal. I closed my eyes. I damned myself for my weakness.

**XxXxX **

Kei closed his eyes from looking at the dark haired girl. He didn't wish for her to suffer. He hoped she would not turn out like the rest. For fifty years, they have been attempting to salvage what was left of the innocent soul that has been cursed, no, it would be better to say it was lead a strayed by one of its own. In fact, it has been over fifty years as they attempt to save on of their own. He looked away from the girl. He could only image what she was feeling, what she was experiencing. There were those who survived traversing into the realm of the Great Mother. They were the ones who were chosen by Her. They were the one who could possibly be one of her Children, like the Master.

Kei felt his eyes wondered back to the girl. She was no doubt a resident of the Middle Realm. As a mortal, she was as close as she can get to the Great Mother. She wasn't frail or helpless like her cousins who lived in the Outer Realm who can't even access the Great Mother's gifts. He watched the girl. It was the least he can do. He hoped, today, he won't have to be the bearer of bad news. He hoped he won't have to reap her soul and return her back to the Great Mother like many others before her.

**XxXxX**

I gasped as pain ricochetthrough my skull. This was nothing I've experienced before. I grind my teeth against the pain. Kei, that bastard, didn't even bother to tell me about this! What am I? A human sacrifice? I have no choice. I've already attempted to dispel it like a genjutsu. This was the real thing. I forced chakra through all the pores in my body warding off the ominous chakra. I felt the pressure give out. Once I release the chakra, the pressure came back ten folds. Already on my knees, I was forced to kneel over in pain. As much as I wanted to scream and give up, my brain refuse to relent. Sometimes, I wish my brain was smarter and let me give up.

If I didn't know any better, I would've thought I was being torn apart internally. Every part of my body ache and I could almost feel the nerves being fried. I saw Kei, standing there. He was just standing there. For some reason, that inaction _pissed_ me off. An inhuman growl escaped my lips as I coated my body with chakra, roughly like how the medic-nins at home did. Instantly, I regain control of my trembling body. The pain washed itself away and I could think clearly now. I slightly smile to myself. If Konoha had access to that kind of torture, the T&I department would have a field day.

I stood up and brushed the hair out of my face. I turned and looked at Kei. He still stood there and was still looking at me. Then his lips curved into a smile. It was a smile that sent me on edge. It wasn't a kind smile and it wasn't a hostile smile either. That smile unnerve me. My anger quickly turned into fear.

"Kei, you bastard." I hissed. There was no way in hell was I going to let him know that I fear him! "You could've told me that was going to happen."

The immortal turned and begin walking away into the mist. Where did that come from?

"Saiyuki-chan," he called. I could hear the humor in his voice. "did you honestly expect it to be so easy as to step through a portal into the Realms of Gods with little or no resistance?"

I hurried after him before I get left behind. The mist surrounded the invisible path the immortal walked on. I had to hurry to follow him. I only had the tips of his flowing robes to follow.

"You can very well call what you experience an initiation." he said as he continue to walk through the impossible mist. Five feet. That was all I could see in front of me. It was hard enough forcing my chakra to cloak around my body as the foreign chakra eats it away.

"Excuse me for being blunt, but I honestly did not expect you to survive. Many before you have died in the very spot you kneeled at."

"You brought me here knowing that I would die?" I asked nearly yelling at him. "That's certainly a wonderful way to ask for a favor!"

"If you've died, there would be another to take your place. More and more would take their place until the task is completed."

"You're playing with life! You can't just do that!"

"Whatever Master decrees, it shall be done."

"I don't want to meet your master then. I don't want to meet anyone who plays with life."

"Are you saying shinobis such as yourself don't play with human life? Are you saying your kind, your work, have never taken a life before under the orders of someone else? Are you saying the lord in which you are under have never order the death of someone for gain?"

I couldn't say anything there. The Third Shinobi War wasn't even twenty years ago. Yondaime Hokage-sama had single handedly stopped the war with his Flying Thunder God. Kakashi-sempai had probably killed more than I have by the time he was ten. He grew up during the war. Even I killed, under the orders of the Hokage. For the village, it was always for the village.

"We are not the one who play with life, Saiyuki-chan." said Kei. I haven't noticed he stopped walking. "As shinigami, we are the ones who preserve the balance of life. I suppose you wouldn't understand. When you meet with Master, he would explain it to you better than I. He, of course, was the first Shinigami. He will explain it to you."

I looked around. The mist stayed behind us, revealing a garden in front of us. Beyond the garden was a large palace. Behind the palace was a wall that stretched for miles high and miles long. It was painted red.

"Come, Saiyuki-chan," said Kei as he began walking again. The invisible path he took twists and turned throughout the whole garden. "The Master awaits your arrival. Mind you, this is your only change home if you are considering backing out."

I was stunned to silence. When had we traverse the large garden and appear in front of the palace. The gate to the palace opened by itself. Kei picked up his robes a bit before stepping in. He turned and gesture me to follow.

"Come,"

After a series of long corridors, doors, turns, hidden passages, we appeared in front of a large black door. It looked shiny, as it lacquered. The doors opened and it revealed a large hall with a large intricately carved, rosewood table and a throne-like chair at the end. In the chair, lounged a boy. I would call him a boy. He looked only a few years older than me. He head was resting on one arm rest while his legs hung out from the other. He was clothed in what looked like rich Feudal Lord robes made of gold and silk. The robes itself was black with patterns of gold. The boy look away from the ceiling and hopped on his feet at our arrival. His short silver hair fell over his eyes.

Kei stopped at the steps before the boy. I assume he was the so called Master. Kei knelt and bowed. I just stood there.

"Kei, you're back." smiled the boy as he jumped from the platform where his desk was and down the stairs in front of Kei. He glanced at me and shot me a smile. "You are successful?"

"Master Enma," said Kei as he rise from his kneeling position. From Enma, he then turned to me. "May I present to you, Saiyuki. The Realm, as you can see, has welcome her."

The boy, Enma smiled. It was a kind smile, but it wasn't innocent. His eyes bore a long history.

"Let me welcome you to the Realm, Saiyuki." he said as he bounced closer to me. He studied me from head to toe. I had to remind myself that I was trained to be unaffected by such scrutiny. After a minute, he nodded and backed off by jumping away. Jumping away…. that's strange. Then again, the act of walking away would have lost its appeal for an immortal years ago.

"Why don't we start talking?" I said taking a sp forward. I ignored the glare Kei sent me. He wasn't going to help me. That was clear. "From what Kei told me, you agree to help me return home in exchange for helping you with a task."

"I like you!"

Huh?

"Alrighty! All you need to do for me is to retrieve a soul. Easy, right?"

I think that's a rhetorical question.

"You must be wondering why I can't just send one of my own to go get it right?"

Another rhetorical question. I'll just nod to keep him happy.

"Well, this soul, is a very special soul. It was stolen from us long before it was time for that particular soul to be reborn. Well, I need it back."

His light and carefree voice suddenly turned harsh.

"Why can't you let it be? I mean, surely its now in a person. Can't you reap it when the time comes for that person to die?" I asked. This didn't make any sense.

"As much as I would love, love, love to do that and leave the paperwork for later, that plan have already failed. The soul has already created a defense mechanism in order to anchor itself to the living world thus throwing the exchange of souls off balance. In the pass twenty years, there has been a torrent of births and deaths because of the anchor. Now, all my shinigamis have been working overtime attempting to balance the exchange or at least hold it off so that someone like you can help us fix it."

"I thought you were an all powerful god. Why can't you go down there and fix it?"

"If that was possible, I would've done this a long time ago."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, as an 'oh so powerful' god, I can't travel to earth without shattering the magical equilibrium into oblivion. In other words, I can't go there without disrupting the natural chakra. I'm pretty sure you've experience the initiation to the Realm? Think about it, you were at the very edge of the Realm, nowhere near the closest god here. You, being a practitioner of chakra, nearly succumb to the overwhelming presence of a god. If I were to suddenly appear in the world, all the efforts in trying to preserve the balance would be for naught."

Ohhh….

"Sorry," I muttered quickly glancing away.

"Anyways, back to the point. I'm forced to do something that hasn't been done since the near beginning of time when we accidentally let lose giant lizards into the world. I'm going to have to send you back a little over fifty years, before the soul had the idea to anchor itself. Keep it safe until it is ready to be reaped. Under no circumstances will you allow it to anchor itself in the living world. Once the soul is reaped, you will go home."

I nodded. It all made sense. It was my ticket home. Besides, I'm in a completely different dimension from my world. Being sucked into a time-space jutsu wouldn't affect my world, just this one. I have fifty years. Fifty years to get home, but I get home none the less. That was fine be me. As long as I get to see Naruto-onii-sama again. That was fine by me, no matter what I have to do.

"Anything to get home." I said looking at the immortal dead in the eyes. I have to be amazed. He had the most beautiful violet eyes I've seen on anyone. They were like the shiniest and most delicately cut jewel.

He smiled, a true smile and nodded. The worry I saw in his eyes disappeared.

"I must warn you," he said looking away. "If you ever die in the past, your soul will return here, to the present but you will have to continue your mission. As of right now, the soul we speak of is still alive and anchored. If you return here, you will have to return to the world of the living. If you die in the present, you will truly die. If you accept these term, take my hand and the contract is sealed for eternity."

I stared at the hand that he produced from the folds of his robes. Either way, I will have to complete my mission or die trying. I shook my head. Anything to see Naruto-onii-sama again. Anything to be in the presence of that giant ball of sunshine.

I smiled and shook the hands of the god.

"Good," he said smiling. "I shall send you on your way immediately."

"Before I go," I started looking back at the god. "Who are you?"

The god had summoned a door, or should I say a portal from out of nothing. His violet eyes bore into mine.

"My name is Enma, the Gatekeeper. I guard the Gate that separates the Realm from the Living and the Dead. I am also the first guardian of many to the Great Mother. I am also the first Shinigami and the Preserver of the Balance of Souls. I am all that, and much more. But you should go now. If you need help, just ask and you shall receive. You should go now, Kei will help you with the first step."

With that, the god turned and walked out of the chamber leaving us there with the glowing portal.

**Thanks for reading! Please Review!**


	6. The Body of Mariana Connor

Kei watched as Saiyuki step through the portal. Well, she didn't really step through the portal, her soul did. Five feet from the portal, the body had stopped moving and stood there. Saiyuki's soul had stepped out of its physical boundaries and into the portal. He walked over to the body that hosts the soul. It laid limp, but alive in his arms as he carried it to a nearby bench. Master Enma would take care of it. After making sure the body would be comfortable, he stepped into the portal as well.

At first he was engulfed in darkness. It reminded him of what the souls of mortals have told him when he went to collect them when they died. They told him about the light at the end of the tunnel. He couldn't help but smile at that. Mortals are such fools. Perhaps that's the reason they live such short, fulfilling lives. Seconds later, he transported to the place where Master Enma have dropped them off at. As if the white walls and the smell of clean linen wasn't a dead giveaway, Master Enma had dropped them off in a hospital. It was a fitting place to find a body for Saiyuki. She's going to need it.

He found Saiyuki floating around a body of a girl. The girl laid there in the white bed. The sheets were smoothed to perfection, without a wrinkle in place. Someone had came in and changed her sheets. Kei remembered her. The girl had died in a car accident. He remembered the conversation with the soul that lived ten years in that body. The girl's name was Mariana Connor, a common name. She was a quiet, timid girl who had always followed people around. She rarely speak her own opinion. Saiyuki was floating above the girl, staring at her face. The girl was already dead. Her soul had already been taken to the afterlife by Kei seconds earlier.

Saiyuki's transparent hand brushed the hair from the girl's face.

"She's dead, Kei." she said in a dead tone. "She's dead, but her body is still living."

"She's in a coma, Saiyuki-chan," he said as he moved next to her. "You can also say she's dead. Her soul has departed but her family wishes to keep her."

"Why don't they let her leave?" she asked caressing the dead girl's cheek. "They can rest easier knowing she's happy in the afterlife."

"I don't know why mortals hope when the truth is glaring at them right in the face. The thing is, they are considering letting her go."

"That's good, Kei."

"Yes, that's good, but that's not going to happen."

The look Saiyuki gave him made him want to take everything back. He regret taking the mission from Master Enma, no matter how much an honor his colleagues had told him.

"What do you mean?" she demanded facing him with an expression full of sadness and anger. There was a lot of anger in her eyes and, as much as he wanted to, he could not escape it. He knew, she can only guess what he had meant.

"That's your new body, Saiyuki." he said looking down at the dead girl.

"You can't expect me to impersonate her!" she exclaimed. "I don't even know her! I can't flat out lie to her family."

Kei closed his eyes. So much for honor. He wondered how Shou would've done in this situation. He probably was better suited. Shou wasn't weak when it came to emotions.

"Then we will have to find another body you are willing to impersonate." he said as he began to move away from Marianna Connor.

"I'm not impersonating anyone!"

"Then you will stay here. As a soul without a home, you will become a ghost. You have not completed your mission, so you will not be welcome in the Land of the Dead with a heavy heart. Once you become a ghost, you can't reverse the decision."

Saiyuki flinched at his words. He looked away. He always wondered how he became a shinigami. He was too emotional, Shou had once told him. He was too easily moved by emotions.

"What about the girl?" she asked.

"What about the girl?"

"Her body is being used by a complete stranger."

Kei sighed. "The girl's name was Mariana Connor. You will know that if you wish to take her body as your own. Her memories would become your memories, but you shall never forget your real self. It will be almost like a second pocket full of memories that are not your own. Almost like dreams. The thing I think will help with impersonating her, is the fact that she's in a coma. There are cases when people's personality changes after they wake from a coma. It's not strange if you wake up and act out of character."

She nodded. "So how do I do this?"

"Just step in her body. I don't know how else to tell you."

"Have you done it before?"

"No."

She smiled. It was a nice smile. Kei decided she should smile more.

"Thanks Kei."

**Pretty short but will upload soon!**

"Before you go, Saiyuki-chan, you should know, this is the last time I will be able to communicate with you before you reach the present. As a warning, I should tell you that once you are Mariana Connor, you are on your own. And if I were you, I would visit Gringotts and ask for a blood test. That should help you."

She smiled again.

"Thank you, Kei."

Then she turned to the body and disappeared. The body, suddenly regain life, or soul. Its cheeks became flushed with life and the heart beat just a little stronger. It would be a little while until she woke up but now, Kei have to return to Master Enma. He has another assignment. Kei turned around and walked through the portal again. This time, returning to the so called present.


	7. Awakening

The magic of medicine and faith. That was the only explanation given to the press when a seemingly dead girl had came back to life. Mariana Connor was transferred to be transfer to the deceased ward that afternoon when the nurse who was in charge of the girl had noticed clear vital signs of life. According to the press, the girl had suffered a severe car accident injury and had died two days later. Six hours after the death confirmation, clear signs of life was noticed on the girl and the hospital proudly proclaimed a miracle happened by an act of God. Well, that was as close as any mortal can get to the truth.

**XxXxX**

The smell of antiseptic, the drone of the machines, the weight of cotton sheets, and the loud pulse of the heart that wasn't mine reminded me that I did not dreamt everything that had happened. The memories of Mariana Connor had came effortlessly to me as if I was really the girl. The only thing that kept me from the illusion of reality was the memories that were mine. The memories that weren't possible to have in this world, in this city called London. I don't know how long I've been lying here, on the hospital bed but I could feel it was time to wake up. The heart that beats told me, the occasional twitch of my fingertips told me so. As much as I wanted out of this deal, I didn't even know how to separate myself from the body. Enma told me I had to die. I assume because the body hasn't really died yet, it was willing to host another soul. If I die, then only the body die and I can go back to my own body.

My fingers twitched again. After a minute, I gained control of the limbs. Another minute passed when I could open the eyes. The body was stiff. Some parts were cold, like the bottom half of my legs. The heart that's not mine beat faster in the body that's not mine. My throat-the throat was parched. I-the body need water. I moved the hands, then the arms. Slowly, the body fell under my command, but it was still awkward. I missed my body. I slip away from the bed. Now, I took in the room fully. It was a single. Nobody else was there. The hum of the machines made my head hurt. Was it my head that hurts? Or am I imagining it? I dismissed the thought. I walked into the bathroom. The mirror was the first thing I went to. I wanted to see…I wanted to see my host.

If it wasn't for the fact that I knew I was staring at a mirror, or the fact that I had access to the memories of Mariana Connor, I could've sworn I was a bodiless soul again, staring at the girl who had died minutes ago. I examine the reflection. Honey hazel eyes stared back at me. Dark, curly limp hair hung around the face. Although there was still baby fat around here and there, I could see no resemblance to the Mariana's mother and father from her memories. I wondered if she was adopted. I dismissed that idea to a recess in the back of my mind as well. I heard the door opened from the other room. Probably a nurse or something. I ignored it and went to examine my host body. I knew it was nowhere near my original who had years to train. There was no muscle in this, what is it? Ten year old body? I poked the stomach. It was lean but there was no muscle. I pushed the curls from my face. Kami, it's gonna be a long fifty years.

The door to the bathroom opened and I saw the white uniform of a nurse. She also had that weird origami boat like hat on her head too.

"Miss. Connor," she greeted. "You really shouldn't be out of bed. You should be resting."

I glared at her through my reflection. Apparently, she didn't notice. Then I wondered if the memories would allow me to speak the language perfectly. That would be great. Then I wouldn't have to speak in the way I was when I spent time with the Weasleys.

"I think I have enough rest, thank you." I said coldly. The nurse just frowned. I turned around to look at her. I must not look intimidating. Like I said before, the hair was limped and I'm pretty sure the eyes on this body looked tired. Not to mention, I looked as skinny as a rake and as breakable too.

"Nonsense, dear." she said as she reached for me in the bathroom. I hated this body then. It has a lot of work. The nurse, as petite as she is, was strong. She managed to pulled me out of the bathroom and literally throw me in bed. Damn, this is embarrassing. "Besides, I came here to inform you that you have a visitor. I wasn't sure wither you were well enough to have on or not."

"Who is it?" I asked giving up on pretesting. I'll start arguing when I have the strength to.

"Your mother of course."

Ahhhh, shit….. Well, I knew I would have to meet her eventually. The only thing was, can I keep the persona of Mariana Connor up enough to convince her? As her mother, she should be able to know immediately if I'm not her.

I didn't have time to put on a mask as the door opened again, this time, the woman names Elizabeth Connor walked in. She was everything Mariana's memory of her was. Picture perfect. She smiled at the nurse who took it as her cue to leave the room, even though I have yet to give my opinion on wither I can handle a visitor yet. After the door closed, my so called mother frowned at me.

"How are you, Mariana?" she asked as she walked over from her position near the door. Her shoes, from what the memories told me were high heels, clicked against the floor. I don't like her, at all. "I must say, I've warned you about walking around the streets of London without looking at where you were going."

Is she for real? Is she really going to walk into a room with a patient who has just revive herself from a comatose state and blame her for landing herself in a hospital? I ransack Mariana's memories and found nothing. Nothing about the accident. That was strange. The frowned. The only thing I can do now is listen to her talk.

"Have you nothing to say for yourself?" she demanded. "You have thoroughly shame your father!"

Father…. That's right. He was the man in Mariana's memories that was running for Great Britain's Prime Minister. He was the man who wanted a perfect daughter. A daughter who was smart, humble, had perfect manners, and over all, obedient. He wanted his daughter to marry into a family with the perfect political connections. If it wasn't a political connection, an economic connection would do. When she was young, that man had a heavy hand. On top of the heavy hand, words would often rain down on her, demanding her to become _his_ perfect daughter.

I looked up at Elizabeth from my clenched fists. I stared at her. Her perfect blonde hair was styled in a way to keep out of her face. Her head was held high and proud. She stood there next to the bed, confidence radiating from her. Her grey eyes narrowed at me. I could feel her assessing me. I could see her brain turning around the facts. I knew, if Mariana was still her, she would be apologizing by now. She would be wondering about the condition of her father and how much damage she had done by landing herself in the hospital. The only thing was, I am not Mariana Connor.

"Mother," I said with a tired voice after I grew tired of her scrutiny. "the nurse told me you were my mother."

I watched her as her face crumbled, her confidence faltered. She nearly fell over. I stared at her with dead eyes. I waited for her to regain her composer. Then, with the clicking of her heels, she walked over with her hands reaching for me. She cupped my face and stared at me. As she studied my face, I stared straight into her eyes, tracking their movements. At last, her eyes met mine. She flinched away.

"Who are you?" she whispered taking a step away from me, as if I was a killer. Wait, scratch that, I am a killer.

I watched her and my head turned to the side a bit, questioning her. I opened my mouth to answer when the screech of an owl was heard outside. Slowly, I turned my head toward the window on the other side of the room in time to see a large barn owl swoop in. It landed right next to me on top of the lamp. I turn back to my mother with questioning eyes. She didn't get to answer as the owl hoot in annoyance. I turned back to it and saw it sticking its leg out at me with a letter attached. I reached for it slowly. The body was tired. In seconds, The letter was in my hands and the owl flew away. I was about to open it when my mother snatched it from my hands. I could only watch her as she tore open the letter and read its contents. Then, she threw the letter back at me.

"Boarding school." she said stiffly as she eyed the letter with distaste. "That would be good for you. The doctors have also said to keep you here for a few days to make sure you're fit to leave. I rather you leave tomorrow."

With that, my mother walked out of the door along with her clicking heels. I wondered if this is what Ojii-sama feels whenever he has to take care of diplomats. They were annoying and accusing as ever, never the ones who would try and understand, afraid they might lose their position in the matter. I look down at the letter that laid on my lap and the shredded envelope on the floor. I tested the chakra in the body. It was small but it had potential. With a flick of my wrist, chakra strings attached itself to the shredded envelope and sent it to my hand. I frowned at the slight drain. I push the thought to train later as I pick up the shredded envelope.

_Miss. Mariana L. Connor_

_Camberwell, London_

_Maudsley Hospital, Room 216_

Nothing strange about that, except for the fact that the envelope was heavier than normal paper. I opened the wrinkled letter. There was a crest at the top of the letter.

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Headmaster: Armando Dippet_

_Dear Miss. Connor,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have be accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. _

_Term begins 1 September. We hope to see you then. _

_Yours Sincerely, _

_Albus Dumbledore_

_Deputy Headmaster _

Hogwarts. That was that magic school the Weasley boys attended. Heck, if I remembered correctly, this was the same letter Ginny received that morning I left for the M.O.M with Arthur-san. The only thing that was different was the headmaster's name. His name was Armando Dippet. Never heard of him before. The deputy headmaster on the other hand was the current headmaster. Other than that, there was nothing on here about any other teachers or what not. I put down the letter and picked up the supply list. The name of the books made no sense, nor do the equipment. The only thing that made sense was the pointy stick. I've seen the pointy stick at work.

I was about to throw out the envelope when I realized there was another sheet of paper behind the supply list. On it, were directions to a place called the 'Leaky Cauldron' and through there, a place called 'Diagon Ally'. There was also a list of recommended stores on where to by the books and equipment. In that letter, it recommended that one should visit a bank called Gringotts first. At the bottom of the letter, there was a ticket that said 'Platform 9 ¾ Kings Cross Station, London. September 1st'. Today, what day is today? I'll figure that out later. Right now, I need to focus on what I should do about mother…

**XxXxX**

Money was pressed into my hands.

"That should be enough for the supplies." said Elizabeth. She hasn't changed since the first time I've meet her. She was satisfied with the fact that I could hardly remember anybody I knew but remember the world around me. Thankfully, she and my so called father had not had time to even say hello to me. We've been ignoring each other for the past three weeks. In another week or so, I will be on my way to Hogwarts. I will not be in forced in the presence of my _parents_ any longer. I can also take that time to train and hopefully find that soul at that school. I wasn't idle during my time here. I haven't pass anyone whose soul screamed 'KIDNAPPED SOUL, HERE'. "Are you listening to me Mariana?"

I turned my attentions back to the blonde haired woman.

"Yes, Mother." I said automatically. "I need to watch out for cars, strangers, and such. You've told me this at least a dozen times."

"Don't talk back to me, young lady." she said sternly. "I'll have you know I'm only concern for your safety."

Oh yes! For my safety indeed! You've only wished for me to marry someone whose pockets are lined with gold for your own benefit! If I had died, I wondered what you and father would've done!

Damn! I shove that train of thought away. I was becoming Mariana. I've been doing that often. I can't lose myself now. I wasn't even in the game yet. I need to calm down.

"Of course, mother." I said coolly.

I have to thank Kami for the fact that my mother has yet to comment on the fact that I have a completely different personality than the original Mariana Connor. The doctors have explained it to her and her husband that it was possible that some people have woken up from comas with different personalities.

"Now off you go. And don't be late for supper."

With that, she ushered me out the door and slam it shut behind me. Well, I wouldn't say that was unexpected. Then again, I didn't expect her to shove me out of the house. I opened my umbrella and hop down the stairs. The body was slowly getting stronger. I could not train like how I use to at home but I still trained. I found it strange how I could absorb the natural chakra in the air and use it as my own. I shudder at the thought of the possibility of that happening at home. There would probably be more wars and more people will die. The idea of having unlimited amount of chakra due to absorbing natural chakra was insane. I wondered if that's why people here use those pointy sticks of their to harness the natural chakra.

**XxXxX**

She had just shut the door in her face. For a few hours, she could have some time to herself. The last three weeks have been torture for her. She didn't understand how did things get so messed up. All she wanted to do right now was go back to her room and cry, cry like the day when she found out her baby has been hit by an automobile. She wanted to run to the hospital. She prayed for her baby. She would've gladly given her own life for her. But a miracle happened. Her baby had came back to her. Along with that miracle, came a curse. The doctors had told her sometimes people come back with different personalities. Some had told her that the dormant personality had taken over.

Elizabeth slowly walked back to her room. She didn't share a room with her husband. She hasn't shared one for years, ever since she realized she couldn't conceive a child.

She thought back to the time when she had first seen Mariana. She was a beautiful baby, hardly two years old. The next thing she knew, she had adopted her. She was happy before she began worrying about the future. The girl needed to be taught discipline and manners. She needed to be well educated in order to support her future husband. Everything she had done, it was for her. She had not expected a car accident could've changed everything. She didn't even know the girl anymore.

She collapse on her bed crying. She would rather live through another world war than this.

**XxXxX**

Down a street and around a corner. Walk pass three more streets and three quarters around the rotunda. Up another street and around another corner. And there, in a small bright street was a small pub hidden in a shadow. As I walked closer, I realized the sign was only seen by me. The sign was old and worn. I step right up to the door and walked in. Inside, the pub was dark and a bit dusty. There were people there, but some were sitting in the shadows. I sense small amount of chakra in them. They must be those magic people like the Weasleys.

"Hello, there Miss." called the bartender as the door closed. He walked from behind the bar toward me. "What can I do for you today?"

I looked up at him. He was old. Well, I wouldn't call him old cause I've seen older people living her but he was old if he was a ninja.

"I'm looking for Diagon Ally." I said assessing him for head to toe. He nodded.

"Follow me."

He lead me to the back of the pub into a small courtyard surrounded my brick walls. There was a trashcan in one corner and a shoe right next to it.

"I'm sure you know what to do." he said before shutting the door behind him as he walked back into the bar.

I looked around. I would've thought this was a joke if I haven't read the last page in the letter. I walked over to the trashcan. Three up and two across. The last brick I tapped quivered before moving out of the way. In seconds, the brick wall was replaced with an arch leading to a street full of stores. The streets were packed with people wearing normal civilian clothes and clothes that drape down to their ankles, like Ojii-sama's formal robes.

I walked down the street, remembering to go to a bank called Gringotts to exchange the money. None of the shops I've walked by indicated it was a bank. I wondered where the bank was. I was about to give up when I saw a large building at the end of the alley. It wasn't really at the end of it. It was in the middle of the street as the street separated into two different streets around it, in a 'Y' shape. On the building was the name of the bank. I walked up the steps and through the glass doors. Inside, there were large high desks all aligned in two rows down the sides of the main aisle. Sitting at the desks, were these little creatures. They had dark skin and often not, a very large pointed nose. They were wearing clothes from what seemed like a child's version of a suit. They have pointed ears and large hands with long fingers and sharp fingernails. I wondered what they were.

I walked up to a desk and waited. The little man that sat there was weighing some sort of precious stone. I waited until he was done. He leaned over the desk and looked down at me.

"Good Morning." he said smiling, revealing his pointed teeth. "How may I help you, miss?"

"I just need to exchange some currency." I said reaching for the notes Elizabeth gave me. I was about to pull them out when he held up a hand stopping me.

"You're new here, aren't you?" he asked.

What did he mean by that? It was a simple question for anybody else. The thing was, did he know? Did he mean I was new to the city or to the Wizarding world? Maybe even the body?

"Yes," I answered cautiously. I am new to the magic world.

"Muggleborn, eh?" he asked again.

"Excuse me, but what do you mean by that?"

"Ah, muggleborn it is."

Ok…. he still didn't answer my question. He left from his high desk and walked around it with a piece of paper and a small bottle of something.

"If you would come with me miss." he said leading me down the aisle and through one of the multiple doors at the end of the room. Through the door, there were many offices there that seemed closed off to public. The creature lead me down several hallways and then stopped in front of one of the offices.

"What are we doing?" I asked. The creature looked back and gave me a smile that sent small chills down my back.

"Standard procedure."

We entered the office and inside were lush couches.

"Please sit down." said the creature setting down the paper and the bottle.

What was this about? The little man drew a small blade from his sleeve and wiped it.

"I'm going to need to test your blood." he said. "It's standard procedure for all muggleborns, this is, witches and wizards born of non-magical parents. It helps speed up the process of opening a bank account with us in the future. That way, you would already be in file and you won't have to do is every time you wish to exchange your muggle currency into galleons and such. Now I just need a few drops of your blood."

I looked at him. Was he trying to pull some sort of trick or whatever? Then again, all he was asking was a few drops of blood. I remember bleeding everyday whenever I trained.

"I'll do it myself." I said holding out my hand, indicating the small blade. He frowned a bit before handing over the small gold blade. It was beautifully crafted and adorn with small jewels.

"Just a few drops of blood on the parchment." he said watching me study the blade. I nodded and with a practiced swipe at my finger, a small cut appeared. I returned the knife with no blood on the blade. Then, right on top of the parchment, I squeezed my finger and red blood dripped from it. Three drops, that was all. Once the three drops were on the paper, I was given a handkerchief.

"Thank you, but it was a small cut." I said as I place the finger in my mouth. What? Saliva has healing properties. Besides, I am going to heal it once I'm out of this bank, I told my Mariana memories.

The creature raised his brow but said nothing. He took the bottle and uncork it. There was a silver liquid inside. How was this supposed to test my blood at all? The little man took the bottle and tilt it until five drops of whatever was inside of it hit the droplets of blood on the paper. Instantly, the blood spread. No, it didn't spread like a splat, it spread like someone was writing with an invisible pen. There were lines and names. Below the English names were names I could read. It made no sense. At the top of the page, the invisible hand wrote one character at the top. Shinobi.

I stood up and yanked the creature by it collar and held him away from me and away from anything dangerous.

"Curious?" asked the creature. He had a mocking grin on his features. What is going on? I frowned, I can't be played into his game.

"Why did that show up?" I demanded. "I thought this was supposed to be a blood test."

The creature smiled. "Why don't we sit down and talk? I'll give you some of the answers. My king can give you the rest. We do owe your kind a favor."

I rummaged through his person and found that only the small knife was on him. He shouldn't be able to do anything else.

"Talk."

He sneered at me and got comfortable in the couch across from me. He folded his hands and paused. Then he began.

"Long before the goblin wars with the normal magical kind, long before what the magic folks called Merlin, one of you came into this world. Magic folks would call him the ancient Japanese wizard, for they believe he was the one who gifted an island nation with the language. He did not appear there. In fact, he appeared from a cave. My ancestors told me he came from a cave. There are different accounts of where he came from, but the story behind it is true.

"This man was powerful. He knew of magic that Merlin, the greatest wizard magic folks claimed of all times, knew not. I know, because my kind has lived through it all, and have long memories. He was kind to us, he gave us the start of our treasures. Then he asked our king a single request in exchange. If one of his own ever make it into our world, help them. They are here for a reason they know not. Then he disappeared, in a flash of lightning."

"What was his name?" I asked leaning forward.

"He called himself, Rikudo Sennin. I don't know if that's his real name or not."

I glance down at the paper. There were only handful of names. They were both in English and, what the creature said, Japanese.

"Those are the names of the witches and wizards from your world that had came before you and their alias. They've apparently had a liking of the last name 'Grim'. They've also made quite a name for themselves. One of them made the whole world know of the Grim name. Now, it's a symbol of bad luck. Would you like to continue on the tradition?"

"I would like to keep it a secret." I said taking the paper and burning it in my hands. The creature smiled. He knew of chakra, but he called it magic. I was disturbed of the name on the paper under my real name. Mirlania Grim. Was that my alias?

"Of course, Miss. And what do you rather be referred as?"

"Mariana Connor."

"Of course. And would you like to see your vault? It's yours until you leave this world."

I nodded and the creature lead me out of the office. Maybe coming here wasn't so much of a accident. Heck, the Sage of the Six Paths came here. For what, I will have to find out later. Right now, I need to complete that mission from Enma.


	8. Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands

The robe, books and everything else was bought. The only thing left was a wand. The letter told me Ollivander's was the only place in Great Britain for wands. Whatever that meant. I would've prefer to shop around. I walked further up the street toward the entrance of Diagon Alley where the Leaky Cauldron was. The lady at the bookstore told me that's where the wand shop was. I must admit, I did not expect a dingy shop in a corner of a building to be the shop people here claimed to have the best wands. The sign was peeling and the windows were layered with dust. The display window had a really nice stick sitting on a super dusty velvet pillow. I heard the door creaked opened and turned just in time to see a boy and his mother walk out. In his hand was a stick. I sighed. I really can't avoid not having a stick, can I?

I grabbed the handle of the door and opened it. I walked into the dusty shop. At the counter was a man about twenty. He smiled and walked over with a measuring tape.

"Good afternoon." he smiled. "Here for your first wand?"

"Yes, sir." I said allowing Mariana to surface. I just wasn't good with all the formal stuff. It's all pointless cause you waste so much time instead of getting straight to the point.

"Just call me Ollivander." he said. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to measure you."

The floating measuring tape beside him jump to life and began measuring everything there is to measure.

"Now I don't believe I know your family." he said as he rest his chin on his hand.

"I'm new." I said. I've said that to everyone who had commented on wither I was 'muggleborn' or not. I don't understand why that was important.

"That seems to be the case, Miss?"

"Connor." I've gotten use to the name. "My name is Mariana Connor."

He nodded as the tape measure wound itself back up and dropped on the counter next to him.

"Well, if you would excuse me, I think I can find some suitable wands for you." he said before walking down an aisle of small, long boxes.

Every now and then, he would grab a box or two from the shelves. The stack of wands in his arms got larger. When he got back, there were over twenty small black dusty boxes in his arms. He piled them neatly on the counter. He took one out of the box and handed the stick to me. It was carved smooth and the handle was a little bumpy. It was nice but felt a little bit weird.

"Yew and dragon heartstring, 15 inches." he murmured. "Just wave it and see if it feels right."

I did as he asked. There was a large gust of wind and everything was sent flying. Strangely, the boxes of sticks did not budge.

"No?" he asked more to himself than me. He walked over to the pile of boxes and picked out another one after discarding half of the boxes. "Try this one. Apple, 13 ¾ inches."

I was an inch away from touching it when I felt the air around it turned static. Ollivander and I both snatched our hands away from the wand fearing it would fry us. The wand clattered on the wooden floor full of wood shavings.

"That was interesting." he commented. "Never have that happened before. Hmmmm."

This time, he walked pass the pile of wands and back into the aisle. Minutes later, he came back with another pile of wands.

One by one, we went through the wands. They didn't seem to like me or I just didn't feel comfortable with them. They also produce a disaster of some sort, not matter how big or small. I don't know if it was an accomplishment or not when I somehow created a nice little field of quick sand in the middle of the shop. Thankfully, the stick maker was able to banish it somewhere else after overcoming the initial shock.

"Nope, that didn't work either." frowned the man. He put the small 10 inch wand back into the box. "Miss Connor, I want you to be honest with me."

I looked up at him. Dose he suspect something?

"Yes?" I asked.

"Do you go by another name?" he asked waking toward me. "Were you adopted? Are you really a muggleborn?"

"Why does that matter?" I asked aware that he was slowly getting closer to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted my emergency exits. The door, the window and if I have to, the ceiling and then the window.

He gave me a calculated look before turning around and picked up one of the wands from the pile of open ones.

"My family, the Ollivanders have been wand makers since the 6th century BC. We have a little more than two millennia worth of information on different people who have bought our wands. From the hundreds of wands we've made and have, we can rule out over half of the potential wands from measurements alone. The rest, depends on the person. More than often, families have shared certain traits and preferences for wands. That would rule out hundreds of wands, yet again. For muggleborns, such as you claim to be, I can't rule out as much. It is much more difficult to find a match for you if you withhold some information."

"Mr. Ollivander." I said watching him carefully. "Correct me if I am wrong, but your family is considered the greatest wand makers in all of the British Isles, am I correct?"

"Yes, that's right." he said in a tone that betrays his feelings. He really wanted to know why I was asking this. Soon, I bet he will wonder how I had managed to gain control of the conversation.

"And your family has been in the business since the 6th century BC?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Your family has also been collecting information on which wands favors which witch or wizard?"

"Y-yes."

This time, his voice was shaky. Ohhhh, he knew where this was going. No way in hell was I going to reveal the fact that shinobi from my world adopted the name 'Grim' over the years.

"Then I will put my faith in you, Mr. Ollivander, to help aid me in my quest to find the wand that favors me. I'm sure someone of your expertise can rule out how many more wands due to whatever measurements you may have to take."

He frowned. I guess he must've realized he was talking to an eleven year old girl. He stared at me hard in the eyes before I saw a light bulb lighting up in his head.

"I wondered…" he muttered before walking to the window display and taking the wand from there. I thought he was going to give it to me when he grabbed the box the wand was on instead. He walked over to me and opened the box.

Inside was a wand that was smooth and dark. It was a long wand, longer than the ones I've tested already. I could feel the air hum. Even though it had been in the box for kami knows how long, it was polished to perfection. I reached for it and the wood felt warm in my hands. It was a strange stick. It almost felt like my favorite kunai. Suddenly a warm breeze blew through the store even though the doors and windows were closed. The breeze stir up the dust and sawdust in the shop.

"I didn't expect that temperamental wand would choose a master now and that I would be the one to sell it." commented Ollivander.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Master? He was speaking as if this stick had feelings or something!

"That wand, is a rather strange wand. After it's last master, we Ollivanders have attempt to find its new master for centuries. Normally, as wand makers, we don't make wands as long as a 16 inch. Long wands are easier to snap unless it's a strong wood and a compatible core. What you have in your hand is a monterillo, 16 inches with a griffin claw as its core."

"Is that suppose to mean something?" I asked examining the wand in my hand. It was slightly curved but pointed. The handle was carved with the utmost care creating a spiral surrounding the inside of the wand.

"You are going to change the world, Miss. Grim."

I jumped, nearly jumping to kill him. How did he know? I gave no indication of anything.

"Don't worry," he smiled. "Your secret's safe with me."

"I don't know what you're talking about. My name is Mariana Connor."

"Of course, Miss. Connor. Please excuse me. I mistaken you for someone else."

"Don't do it again. You might offend somebody next time." I said glaring at him. "How much for the wand?"

"12 galleons."

I paid for the stick before leaving the shop. I wish the week would end already and I can be on my way to that magic school. From what Ron was telling Ginny, Hogwarts has an extensive library. Maybe they would have something on altering memories? Ollivander knew too much.


	9. September 1st

I waited for the driver to Put my trunk on the buggy. My mother waiting along side of me. It was for appearances of course. My father, who I have yet to speak to, was not there.

"Do you have your ticket?" asked my mother as she looked at me from head to toe, making sure everything was perfect, making sure I was presentable. "Do you know where to go?"

"Yes, mother." I replied like a proper well mannered daughter.

"Are you going to come home during the holidays?" she asked.

"I'll send a letter about that when it gets closer to the date." I said before taking the buggy and wheeling it toward the entrance of the station. "You have a good day mother. I will see you next year."

"Have a good term, Mariana." she said giving me a stiff nod. "I expect you to have good grades as well."

"Of course."

I walked into the station by myself. From Mariana's memories, she had been here on several occasions. As I approached the platform between 9 and 10, I spotted a clear genjutsu. The thing was, I wasn't sure if it was really a genjutsu. It was clearly an illusion but against the solid looking brick wall, it looked like a portal of some sort or something. A warped dimension maybe? I stood there waiting and watching to see if anybody would prove to me that this was the right place. As if kami heard me, I saw a small group of people of different ages taking. There was about three people. Then they stopped almost directly in front of the wall. Then without hesitation, one by one, they walked straight into the wall and disappeared. Well, that seemed to be the right wall.

I walked into the portal and immediately entered a platform behind the people from earlier. I was early. I push the buggy around a corner and saw a bright red and black train. It was a pretty train. It gleamed in the lights. Sighing, I shook the thoughts of home away. Fifty years, maybe more. I looked at the train again. If that was at home, it would be destroyed in seconds. The thought of that made me reluctant to get on, but I did so anyways. My mission is more important than my fears.

A few minutes later, I was in a compartment by myself. That was when I started to see people streaming onto the platform from the portal or randomly popping up like over at the M.O.M. I saw parents or guardians pull out their sticks and help levitate their kids belongings onto the train. Why can't the kids do it themselves? Only the older ones did. I recognize the jutsu. The distinct movements of the sticks were all the same, the exact copy of the levitation jutsu.

None of the people on the other side of the window was the person I was looking for.

I sensed people walking toward my compartment from down the hallway. I summoned my wand from its seal and pointed at the door. A quick locking charm later, I was promised to solitude. Hopefully, people would get the idea that I wanted to be left alone.

I pulled a journal out of my trunk and flipped to the correct page. A small amount of chakra seconds later, I had the book I needed in my lap. It was another one of those jutsu books. I never expected to learn these things so quickly. In fact, learning how to perform one of these 'spells' made learning how to perform a bunshin no jutsu hard. No need to visualize anything to make sure the illusion or jutsu work, no need to provide a constant stream of chakra to ensure the jutsu will hold out, nothing! Just say the incantations and provide enough small bit of chakra to the stick and the stick will do the job for you. Damn these people have it easy.

The train ride was peaceful, that is, after the first hour when people realize the door is locked and they couldn't do anything about it. Other than that, I wasn't disturbed.

I stepped off the train onto a dark platform. There was hardly anything there except for a few buildings. All around, there were large trees in the distance. As the students pile off the train, I saw a bobbling light in the distance. I cursed this body for having weaknesses like this. I couldn't see as far in the dark as I could with my original body. I walked to the side and waited. I honestly didn't feel like getting trampled to death the first day of school, even though that wasn't possible.

"First years!" came a call. It came from the bobbling light which now outlined the silhouette of a person. "First years, please come this way!"

As the voice and light came closer, the face of a young man with long dirty blonde hair tied loosely at the nape of his neck was illuminated by the street lights. He had on yellow and green robes with a bit of brown on it. He didn't look old. I would say he was in his mid twenties or something.

"First years!" he called. He had his stick pointed at his throat. It wasn't humanly possible to say anything that loud without shouting it. "This way please!"

I walked over to him along with some other students. The older students had greeted him before going their own way.

Maybe he counted heads or something but he began leading the group of 'first years' down a steep and narrow path through the woods. I hung out near the back of the pack. I wasn't about to let some stupid child trip and send me flying from behind. No, I'll watch them fall from behind, thanks. I watch them trip and stumble, trying to keep up with the man with the lantern. I didn't sense any disturbance in the air that would tell me if that person was here, the person who was the kidnapped soul.

At the end of the path was a large body of water. By the shore was six small wooden boats floating on top of the glassy waters. The man with the lantern turned back to us. He smiled and waved his hand toward the large stone castle that sat on a cliff above the lake. All its rooms seems lit up.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" asked the man. "This is probably the best view of Hogwarts you'll ever see."

He gave the group a few more minutes to gape at the castle. It was impressive but I'm sure I'll have time to stare at it later. Instead, I looked around the surroundings. For now, it was all forest and lake. The lake isn't a problem. I could always check out the forest later.

"Aright, that's enough gaping around." said the man. "Now let head to the actually building, huh? No more than four in each boat."

Through the mud and water, I watched as some people climb into the boats. I waited. There were a few that waited with me. Two of them were boys who could rival Sasuke and possibly Neji. One of them had blonde hair that was combed back. Another had dark hair that was slightly curled, just slightly. He had a dark gaze. The last one was a girl with thick, curly dark hair. She was pretty. They all were looking at each other and assessing each other like I was. The blonde and the girl looked like they knew each other, if the small smiles they had meant anything.

We got into the small wooden boat with minimal damage to our clothes. Probably a splash of water here and there. The ride across the mass of water was peaceful. Nobody spoke as they crossed the lake in the small wooden boats.

We docked at a dock right underneath the castle. The man with the lantern led us up some stairs and knocked on a large door. The door opened and a man with long auburn hair and glasses appeared. He was wearing weird clothes with flowers blooming on it.

"Professor Dumbledore." smiled the man with the lantern. "Here you go, the first years."

"Good ride across the lake, Professor Tumbleweed?" he asked.

"Wonderful." smiled Tumbleweed. "Nobody fell in this year."

With that, Tumbleweed left us to the old professor with the weird robes.

"Follow me," said Dumbledore. He turned and led us into the castle.

After some series of twists and turns and up some more stairs, he ushered us into an empty classroom across from large bronze double doors where whispers were coming from. The other students must have made it there already.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." he said as he looked upon each and every face in the small crowd of first years. He gaze seems to linger on one person on the far side of the room just a little bit longer. "Now, in a few moments, you will walk through the double doors into the Great Hall and you will be sorted into your houses. The houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. You will be reward house points for your achievements. Any rule breaking and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded the House Cup, and I assure you, it's a great honor. Now, I will come back to get you when we're ready for you. I suggest you smarten yourselves up before you are sorted."

He left the classroom without another word. Honestly, I really don't care about where I get sorted to. The houses sounds like made up words and whatnot. As the whispered of my fellow classmates began to escalate, there were snippets of their conversations I was able to catch.

"Look at those pathetic mudbloods." I heard the pretty girl with the curly black hair whispered to her blonde friend. "I'm appalled of the fact that they are even accepted to Hogwarts. This is the best magic school the world has to offer, and its being degraded my filth!"

The blonde nodded in agreement. Then, their conversation ceased when he noticed me watching them. I ignored their looks as I pretended to survey the crowd. I saw another boy with sandy hair and dark eyes. He was telling his friend about Gryffindor and how his whole family's been Gryffindors. There was another group of students who were discussing about the 'smarten up' comment by Dumbledore and what he meant by that. Another group was talking about houses and the brief description of it from _Hogwarts a History._

Before long, Dumbledore came back and with a small movement of his hands, he lead us through the bronze doors and into the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was really a great hall. Maybe it was the stone or maybe it was lit up by torches, but it made the room glow like it was gilded with gold. There were four large banners above four long tables. Each banner was different. From the far left, was a banner that was silver and gold. There was a snake on the crest. No doubt, it was Slytherin. Next to it was a banner of blue and bronze. There was a type of bird on its crest. For some reason, it was a dark blue instead of black like a raven. Something I don't understand about these people. They should at least be accurate. On my right was a banner of black and yellow. There was a type of bear looking animal on it. Last, but not least, was the table on the far right. Aside from the table from the far left, I think its colors are the most gaudy. It's symbol was of a lion in red and gold. At the end of the hall, in front of large glass windows, was a long table exclusively for what look like teachers. Tumbleweed was sitting on the right of an empty seat. Probably for Dumbledore. The ceiling had an illusion of the sky.

As we walk down the main aisle of the room, all the students on each of the tables turned to look at us. In turn, I stared back at them. One by one, I dismissed the fact that they were not the person I was searching for.

Before I knew it, I was ushered to the front of the room in front of the teachers table at the bottom of the raised platform. On the platform was a old three legged wooden stool. On top of it was a slightly dusty, worn, faded black hat. Dumbledore went to stand right next to the hat before unfurling the rolled up paper in his hands.

"When I call your name," he said looking back down at us. "You will come up and I will place the hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses."

Simple enough, but what does the hat do?

"Connor, Mariana."

Great, just great! Why do I have to be the guinea pig? I step away from the group and toward the stood. Up the steps I go! The auburn haired man just smiled slightly at me as he picked up the hat from the stool and waited for me to sit. I sat down facing the rest of the school. The hat was dropped lightly on my head as it covered my eyes.

_"You know," _whispered a voice in my head. _"I can't sort you if you block me from your mind."_

_"What are you doing in there anyways?" _I hissed. I could feel whatever it was recoil a bit.

_"Oh ho! It's been a while since I have sorted one of you Grims. I don't need your memories to determine where to put you. Your loyalties know no bounds. You will do well in _Hufflepuff."

The last word, Hufflepuff, was said for the entire room to hear.

_"I hope to see you again."_

That was the last thing the hat had said to me before it was lifted off my head. To my left, the students on the yellow and black table clapped. I slip off the stool and walked toward the table. The students there gave me a smile before looking back toward the Sorting Hat. The next first year had been called on to be sorted. I watched with disinterest as I thought about the last words the hat gave me. He knew I was a Grim, even though I didn't allow him to enter my mind. H said it would hope to see me again. What did that mean, as the next round of applause was sounded throughout the hall, I was forced to accept the fact that it was just an enchanted hat speaking as if it knew something it shouldn't.

"Riddle, Thomas." called Professor Dumbledore.

It was dark haired boy's turn. He was the boy I sat in the boat with. He walked up the steps to the platform and sat down on the stool. The hat was placed on his head.

"SLYTHERIN!" shout the hat immediately as if being worn by the boy had burned it.

Dumbledore took the hat off the boys head and watch him walk toward the clapping green table. I watched him. Why was Dumbledore interested in him? He didn't look special. I watched ignoring the next person that was called up. The boy sat at the end of the table. His housemates, if you can call them that, eyed him weirdly. They were assessing him. I wondered why. From what I've observed earlier, they had not subjected to such scrutiny.

After the final student was sorted, the man with a weird hat that sat on a seat that looked like a throne stood up. Another old man.

"Welcome, Students!" he greeted. "For those, new and old, welcome to the start of another great term. As many of you know, I am Headmaster Dippet. Now, before we begin the Start-of-Term banquet, I have a few announcements to make. To all the students, new and old, I hope you had a well rested summer. After today, you will return to your classes, working hard and earning House Points for your Houses. Also, the Forbidden Forest is, as of its name, forbidden to all students. But we should put those thoughts aside for now and enjoy the feast before your eyes."

Just as he finished, the tables were instantly filled with food of every kind. The students were polite enough to clap for the Headmaster's speech for a few seconds before eating.

"You're going to like it here." came a voice. I looked up from my baked chicken toward the owner of the voice. It was a sandy haired boy who sat to my left on the other side of the table. He was talking to the three other first years in the house.

"Why are you saying that in such a way as to assume that we won't?" I asked cutting into the conversation. I raised my brow as he turned to look at me. The others nodded with me.

"It's a bit of a misconception that the other houses have of our house." he said taking a drink of whatever it was that was in the goblet. "People assumes, as Hufflepuffs, we are the most 'plain', I supposed you would call it that. Most of us Hufflepuff aren't competitive. That being said, we don't tend to win a lot of things, like the House Cup or the Quidditch Cup." I honestly didn't care about that. I couldn't say for the others since they had downcast faces. "On the bright side we don't have to deal with rivalries."

"What do you mean by that?" asked the girl on my right. She had short brown hair and was a bit on the chubby side.

"Gryffindor and Slytherin have been rivals ever since the school was built. Some of their pranks occasionally get out of hand. Ravenclaws naturally are competitive academically. But those are just the major stereotypes. I think we have the simplest school life without having to be put through all that. Hufflepuff is a neutral house after all."

"I'll hold you to that peaceful school life promise." I said holding out my hand. "Mariana Connor, please to meet you."

"Landon Sparks." he said shaking my hand over what was left of the large roasted chicken. "Second Year. A pleasure."

As the feast went on, I learned the names of the other new Hufflepuffs. The boy who was on the tall side and had golden blonde hair and bright green eyes was Nicholas Quartz. The girl with the short brown hair and vivid honey hazel eyes who was also on the chubby side was Viviane Eberstark. Last but not least, the quiet boy with dark brown hair and grey eyes who was just shorter than usual, wearing clothes that looked a bit too big on him was Ivan Vargas. The conversations turned from the Hufflepuff House in general to classes and what to expect. Then it turned to summer vacations and such.

Once the desserts have disappeared from the tables, Headmaster Dippet stood up.

"Now that we are all fed, let us all be off to bed." he said smiling. "Prefects, if you please."

With that, there were two people, a boy and a girl, from each table who started gathering their houses. I followed the boy with brown hair out of the Hall. The girl was making sure that none of the first years were left behind.

"Hufflepuffs, follow me." called the boy prefect. We were the only house who did not turn to the right toward the large staircase. Instead, we headed toward a small staircase going downwards.

I followed my, I supposed you would call it, house pass a large painting of a bowl of fruit. Then, we entered a large room full of giant barrels.

"First years, if you would please come up front." called the girl prefect. She smiled as the four of us walked up. She held out her wand and pointed at a barrel. "This is how you enter our common room. In case you don't remember which barrel it is, it's the second barrel from the bottom and the middle in the second row. Remember that. Also, unlike the other houses, we don't have a password. Instead, you tap the correct barrel in the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff."

"Here, watch me." said the boy prefect as he grabbed his wand and tapped the barrel.

TAP-TAP _tap-tap-tap_

The top of the barrel swung open revealing a tunnel.

"Now let me warn you first years before we head inside," said the girl. "If you tap the wrong barrel or the wrong rhythm, you will be in for a nasty surprise. Other than that, you should be fine."

She lead the way into the tunnel which wasn't very long. Soon, we were in a large cozy room furnished with comfortable looking couches and chairs. There was also a large fire that was in a large hearth straight ahead. On the walls were small pots of plants. I've only recognize a few that I knew from home but some of the others I remember reading about them in that _1000 Magical Herbs and Fungi _book I had to buy. On either side of the hearth was two large round doors. The two prefects took to stand in front of the crowd of Hufflepuffs.

"Before you all go to bed, there's a House meeting tomorrow morning at seven for just the firsts years." called the boy prefect as the older students walked pass them and through the doors. "Alright, girls dormitories to the right and down the stairs. Boys, same thing on the left. The door of your year should be on it. That's yours."

I followed Viviane through the right door. The first door on our right had the number 1 on it. Viviane opened the door and stepped in. She gasped as she walked in. I walked in after her, It was a large rectangular room. There were only two beds there along with our belongings.

"This is huge!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe this whole room is ours."

I shrugged and walked over to my trunk. I pulled out my sleepwear and left them on the bed. Then I went to hunt for the bathroom.

"Where are you going?" asked my roommate as she turned to me.

"Bathroom." I replied before leaving.


	10. First Day

I step inside the common room right around 6:30. Nobody was up. That's good. I still have half an hour before the meeting. I walked past the hearth that always seems to be going, never fully extinguishing. I remembered walking past it this morning and it was a dying fire by then. Opening to door to the girls dormitories, I walked into the first years one. Viviane was still sleeping. I'll wake her if she's not up by the time I take my shower. I grabbed my clothes and went back to the main tunnel like hallway where all girls dormitories branch off of. At the end of the hall was a large bathroom.

As the water soaked my hair, I attempted to remember where everything was. I couldn't find the door that leads outside so I took a light jog exploring the castle. None of the residents in the castle was awake that I could've seen. I supposed the transparent wisps of chakra in form of people were the only ones awake. They called themselves ghosts. Yurei, I supposed. I laughed at the thought of Naruto-onii-sama begin here. He would be scared shitless no matter how nice they seemed to be. Maybe he'll die of a heart attack if he ever met the Bloody Baron. I've talked to that yurei for a few minutes. He was interesting, even though he's a bit quiet. I supposed his death is the reason why most people are scared of him. I have to say, it's cleaner than most shinobi work.

Giggles brought me out of my musing.

"Someone's here already." I heard one girl said.

I turned off the water and grabbed a towel. I could feel the goose bumps rise from the cold shower. I'm not about to weaken myself with the luxury of a hot shower. I put on my sweatpants and tee shirt before walking from the shower. Near the sinks were four girls, all older than me.

"Good morning!" one of them chimed when she say my refection in the mirror. I mumbled a good morning before leaving.

When I got back to the dorm, Viviane was up. She was already putting on her robes, which I've noticed the hem and the crest had changed to the house colors and crest, instead of the Hogwarts crest. She smiled as I dumped my sweaty clothes in the hamper by my bedside table.

"Good morning." she smiled.

"Morning."

I pulled out the uniform and robes. I glanced at Viviane. She looked like she was wearing the uniform right. Ok, so blouse first. Tie, sweater, skirt, socks, robes then shoes. Got it. I frowned at the tie. How the heck am I supposed to work this thing?

"Need help?" she asked. She walked toward me and grabbed my tie. "This is what you do. This part goes under and then over. And then you tuck this part in and your done!"

"Thank you." I mumbled before throwing the sweater on. I looked at her. I held out my hand. "I don't think we've formally met." Mariana was kicking in again. "My name's Mariana Connor."

"Viviane Eberstark, a pleasure."

"Should we head to the common room? It's almost seven."

By this time, I am more than willing to let the Mariana side of me take over. She was waaay better than me with all this formal mushy stuff. I can't understand why people in this world would want to stay in school when they are of age to being doing field work. It's way more exciting than sitting around learning academy stuff. Why didn't they let kids go to school earlier?

As we entered the common room, we were greeted with a man dressed in plain green robes walking briskly from one end of the room to another talking to the older Hufflepuffs. I don't know wither it was because he was a teacher, or maybe he had eyes on the back of his head, or what but he whirled around so fast that his robes just became a blur of green.

"Good morning!" he greeted. It was the same man from yesterday who goes by the man of Tumbleweed. "Good morning first years! Have a good rest last night? Good, good! You're going to need it once class starts! Now, don't look like that, you'll have fun! Sorry for having you up so early though."

Haaaa…. What a cherry guy. Is he happy all the time?

"Are you all here?" he continued without stopping. "One, two, three four! Yes, you are all here!"

I could already see Naruto-onii-sama calling him a crazy coot or something along the lines of that.

"My name is Professor Tumbleweed. You may know me as the Head of the Hufflepuff House! As Head of the Hufflepuff House, it is my duty to help you. Helping you includes, but not limited to, informing you of an efficient way to navigate Hogwarts. Now, if I was a typical professor, I would hand you all a freshly printed map of the school and be done with it. As an educator, I think a map is counterproductive in a wondrous school such as Hogwarts, since some classrooms have been known to move every once in a while. So instead, I believe teaching my first years a navigational spell would do the trick!"

I glanced around at my housemates. Anyone but the first years have all either ignored the professor or watch amusingly on the sidelines.

"Now, the incantation is simple. _Locum gubernas. _That's it! After you say the incantation, indicate where you want to go, and your wand will point the way!"

Tumbleweed demonstrated the spell requesting the Great Hall.

"Now I must warn you, this spell will not work if a place is hidden under a charm like Hogwarts. It will work inside but if you're outside, trying to get inside, it will not work. It's a bit complicated to understand but the important thing is, you can now navigate Hogwarts! You will eventually learn your way around Hogwarts but I believe the best way to learn is through experience! Now, practice the spell and don't be late for class! Oh! And before I forget, there are your timetables. One for you, one for you, one for you as well, and one for you tooo! Class begins at 10 o'clock sharp. Don't be late!"

With that, we watch the exuberant professor target another small group of Hufflepuffs giving them their timetables.

"Mariana!" called Viviane hopping over. "What classes do you have?"

I looked down at my own. Huh, that's a lot of free time to myself.

Period Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

First Transfiguration DADA Charms Transfiguration History

Second Transfiguration History Herbology Charms Transfiguration

Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch

Third Potions Herbology DADA DADA Potions

Fourth Charms Charms Potions History Potions

Flying (3:30)

Midnight Astrology

Huh, the same classes. Maybe cause we're all first years?

"So we all have the same classes." commented Nicholas. "Well, whatever, I'm ready for breakfast! _Locum gubernas Great Hall!"_

The wand in his hand laid still.

"Huh? That's not right. _Locum gubernas Great Hall!" _A deep blush was appearing on his cheeks. "What am I doing wrong?"

"Well, he did say practice it." said Ivan pulling out his wand. "_ Locum gubernas Great Hall!"_

The wand floated a few inches above the palm of his hand and pointed straight to the tunnel of the common room.

"Dad taught me the spell when he finally had it with me getting lost." he smiled cheekily. A hand came out of nowhere and swat him on the back of his head lightly.

"Showing off, Vargas?" I laughed. He just scratched the back of his head and continued smiling.

"Maybe."

"Now if you two can stop flirting, can we please go get breakfast?" asked Nicholas as he place his hands on both Ivan's and my back before pushing us toward the tunnel entrance.

XxXxX

Ivan grabbed his wand from hovering a few inches above his palm. The door to the classroom was opened. Stepping inside the room, there were only about ten desks in the large classroom. All around were strange objects. Some of them omit colorful smoke. Near the large wooden desk at the front of the classroom was a large silver stand with a crimson red bird. The bird looked at us and chirped. I've never seen that type of bird before. I haven't read about it either in that _Fantastic Beast _book.

I walked up to the front of the classroom near the desk and the chalkboard on the left. Nicholas sat next to me and Ivan behind me. Viviane sat behind Nicholas. It was almost 11 and I hope this class was more eventful than that poor excuse for a history teacher. So the school had managed to employ a yurei to teach history. Interesting, that is, if only that particular yurei wouldn't drone on and on about the first use of magic and the existence of magical beings. I think they book is informative enough without having a teacher whose dead and have been reciting the book for years, thank you very much.

"Ahh, good." came a voice from behind us. The damn teacher has finally decided to arrive. "I see everyone made it to class in time."

From the corner of my eyes, I recognize the aged auburn haired professor from yesterday. Upon closer inspection, he had blue eyes that twinkled annoyingly and half moon glasses. He was tall, maybe even taller than most Akimichi. His robes were as colorful as ever. Today, they were the colors of the sky. By the sky, I mean, every color the sky can make. The sun rise on one side of the robes and set on the other. The pattern continued.

The man, Dumbledore, if I remember correct, walked up to his desk and petted his bird. Then he went to stand in front of his desk.

"Good morning." he said. I must say, there wasn't an ounce of care in those words. It was as if he said it just to say it, not that I haven't done that before. "My name is Professor Dumbledore. I am your transfiguration professor hopefully for the entire duration of your time at Hogwarts. I have to warn you. I will not tolerate any games played in my class. Transfiguration is an art and is one of the most complex and dangerous magic you will be learning at Hogwarts. If done incorrectly, it can do irreparable damage. That being said, any fooling around and you will leave and never step foot into my classroom again. That being said, why don't we start discussing transfiguration theory before be practice any spells?"

He waved his hand toward the black board and words appeared.

_Transformation_

_Banishment_

_Conjuration_

_Untransfiguration_

"These are the four branches of transfiguration." continued Dumbledore as he began walking around. I saw Ivan pulling out the thick paper and then the feather and ink. Ugh, I hate taking notes. "Transformation, is simply, turning one object into another. Like so." He turned to transform his desk into a horse and then back. "Banishment is the art of erasing something from existence. This branch of transfiguration is more difficult to understand. Depending on what you are planning on banishing, it will all depend on your magic core. That is the core you are born with. When you reach your maturity, you will fully develop your magic core, but more about that on a later date. Conjuration is the opposite of banishment. It brings objects into existence for a certain amount time. Last but not least if untransfiguration. This branch will be the main topic for those who would wish to take my N.E.W.T.s class."

For the rest of the class, Dumbledore continued his lecture on transformation as we took notes. I've noticed we were the only ones in class, like in History of Magic. Are all classes this way? By the end of the class, Dumbledore promised the next class, they would be attempting a transformation.

XxXxX

"What do we have next?" asked Ivan as he peered over Viviane's shoulder to look at her timetable. "Doubles potions. Huh, I wonder if we're going to be alone again. That would be boring. I heard that some of the other houses have classes with other houses. You know, like Ravenclaw and Gryffindor."

"That sounds nice." mused Viviane. "I mean, compared to the other houses, we have the least students in first year."

I nodded slightly as I turned a page in my transfiguration book. From what Dumbledore have explained about transformation, it was pretty much in line with the book but it went into more detail. The book was a bit vague but through.

"Homework already?" came a familiar voice. I looked up and saw Landon. His hazel eyes shined in amusement as he eyed my book. "Maybe the hat sorted you in the wrong house."

"It's always better to be prepared than sorry." I said closing the book and placing it in my bag. "Besides, it's not every day you are talked into how insignificant you are."

"I take it you all just had Dumbledore?" he asked sitting down on a free spot on the bench right next to Viviane. Some nods confirm his suspicion. "That man would do that to you. He's strict but his classes are one of the best in the whole school. Anyways, I have to go now. I was just checking on how our first years are doing. Since you're starting on homework already, maybe this year, we'll win the House Cup."

With that, Landon walked away toward his group of friends, surprisingly in the Gryffindor table. Huh.

"Well, I'm going to head to the dorms to grab my books." I said slipping away from the table.

"Shame on you, Miss. Connor." smiled Viviane. "You should've gotten your books with us instead of waiting until the last minute. Should we wait for you?"

"Thanks, but you don't have to. How hard would it be to find the dungeons? I'll see you all in class."

With that, I turn from the group and headed to my dorm.

XxXxX

I ran around another corner. How in the world did I lose trace of time? I never do that! I sprinted down the hallway. It was empty. Good, no one would have seen me almost disappearing. I whip around another corner to jump down the stairs when I hit resistance. Dammed fucking body! I was falling. I was well aware that the descending steps were getting closer. Struggle as I may to land on my feet or at least break my fall, the slightly chubby body could not react to the messages my brain was sending it, or should I say Mariana's brain? Whoever I ran into, they were falling down backwards, even worse. In the span of two seconds, I could've saved us. I could've disappeared after saving us. In fact, I could've cast one of those measly spells to save us! Fucking body. I'll work you to the bone until I'm satisfied.

I watched at that person who was falling backwards seemed to regain enough sense in that span of two seconds to attempt to hold onto the railing. He would've succeeded in not falling if I wasn't falling right behind him. Another hard impact and we were tumbling down the stairs. The steps had poked my back, my arms, legs, and when we cam crashing into a wall, my head banged against stone wall, hard. Normally, it wouldn't faze me. In was use to being hit on the head with hard objects, mainly the blunt end of a kunai or a swift chop from a practiced hand. Mariana on the other hand…. yea….

I groaned as I pushed myself off the ground. Damned body! There was another groaned and I saw the person beside me. He was older, and had dark hair, maybe dark brown, and dark eyes. His robes, tie and crest indicated he was from the lion house. I'm sure he's aright. He wasn't the one who had hit his head against the wall.

"That was quite a fall." he laughed as he laid still on the floor. I brushed the dust from my robes and stared down at him.

"Are you alright?" I asked peering down at him. He smiled. Those glasses he had on emphasized his smile.

"I'm fine." he said still laying there. "I just need to have a few minutes to grasp what happened."

"I ran into you. You fell." It was as simple as that. What's more to grasp?

"And that was quite a fall." he commented. He still had that stupid smile on his face. Where have I seen that smile before? "Anyways, you seemed like you were in a hurry to get somewhere. Don't worry about me. I'll leave when I'm ready."

"Are you sure?" I asked pulling out my wand. "I can take you to the infirmary."

"I'm fine." he said as he slowly peeled himself from the stone floor. "See?"

"If you're sure." I whispered softly. "_Locum gubernas Potions classroom!"_

The wand spun above my palm and pointed out toward the larger hallway, away from the small staircase. Then I walked off to class. I really don't have time for such nonsense, especially if he wasn't the person I was looking for.

I entered the classroom at the last minute and quickly took the open seat Viviane had saved me. She shot me a questioning look. I've already been around her for less than twenty-four hours. Sleeping don't count. I wondered when we would learn to cast a spell that would shut some people up. I have to say, she was nice and everything but she doesn't have the ability to BE QUIET!

The professor for this class just smiled at me as I took my seat. I must say, I hope he isn't as boring as the rest.

XxXxX

"How did you do that?" hissed Viviane as my potion suddenly thickened. I quickly glanced down at her chopped horned slugs and sighed.

"Your slugs aren't uniformed." I said pointing to the book. I have a small amount of time to kill. The potion has to brew for twenty minutes. Just in time for the end of class.

"What are you talking about?"

I plucked one of her chopped slugs from her cutting board and held up one of mine in between my thumb and index finger.

"Compare and contrast."

"What are you talking about?" she asked staring at the pieces. "What's the difference?"

I sighed.

"How many slugs did you put in your cauldron already?" I asked looking down at her watery mixture. It was bubbling but it wasn't thickening.

"Uh, four?"

I tossed two of my slugs into her cauldron and watch it begin to thicken.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"I follow directions."

I went back to my potion and left hers to herself. Professor Slughorn, the potions teacher, had lectured us for fifteen minutes before sending us off to make a potion to cure boils. I was almost done. After I finish waiting for it to brew, all I had to do was add crushed snake fangs and stir it counter clockwise three times.

I glanced around the classroom. This was the first class I had that's with another house. We were with the Slytherins. What were they like? The people in Hufflepuff are friendly and everything but kami they were slow! Maybe because they were like me, born of non magic people, _muggleborns_, but Ivan was a magical child. He was born from magical parents. He should naturally be doing better than us. The Slytherins on the other hand, so far, had been steady in potion making. The curly haired girl from the boat along with the blonde haired boy were whispering to each other. At the end of their table was the other boy from the boat. He looked bored… His potion was almost done from what I can see. His face was blanked. What was his name again?

As I was studying him, the two Slytherins from before pointed at him with scorn on their faces. Although his face was blanked, I felt it. His magic, chakra, whatever you wanted to call it flared. The anger laced in his magic filled the room for less than a second, maybe even a fraction of a second, a fraction of a fraction of a second? It happened so fast that I even questioned myself wither I had felt it or not. The other students weren't fazed but his display of anger. What did they say?

"Very good Miss. Connor!"

I jumped and turned in the direction of the voice. Slughorn.

"This is a very well brewed potion." he smiled. I turned down the heat and began stirring it counter clockwise.

"Thank you, professor." I said letting the Mariana personality take over.

"Tell me, are you related to Cubert Stein in any way?"

"Not that I know of. May I inquire as to why you asked, professor?"

"He was a brilliant potion master in the late 18th century. Muggleborn, but truly brilliant."

I nodded away. Muggleborn, I frowned at the word. The way Slughorn had said it made it seem like it was something _undesirable._

"Well, five points to Hufflepuff for a splendid first potion!" smiled the plump professor before he continued on his rounds of the class.

"I still don't understand how you did that." frowned Viviane.

I ignored her as I watched the boy from the corner of my eyes. Keeping him under observation shouldn't hurt.


	11. December

I watched the man with the blinding robes walk around the classroom. Our class of four has now turned into a class of ten. Why? Well there was an attack yesterday, or that was what was reported in the paper called the Daily Prophet.

My pureblood classmate, Ivan decided I should finally be let into the comings and goings of this world. For what reason, I do not know. In fact, for some reason, he felt that I should know every single little detail the Prophet had reported about the war. I wondered if he had ever heard of the saying one should never put all their eggs in one basket, neither should one get all their egg from the same place. Unlike home, the amount of information in the streets, or should I say this school, is inaccurate. And no, I did not come to that conclusion out of nowhere.

I mean, who in their right minds want to write 'and this, my dear readers, this reporter plans to find out if that's the last thing I do!' This reporter? Is the reporter the only source of information these people have for news? Sure, there's some truth in the so called 'report' but without other sources, this is hardly something I would called a report. Times like these, I wish I was back home where I can trust 80% of the information I was given. The other twenty can be guaranteed to be tampered with by traitors and the like.

So back to the wonderful story of my messed up life due to a failed jutsu, I am currently sitting in a transfiguration class of ten with six first year Gryffindors. Headmaster Dippet, as awesome as he is but somewhat carefree, decides to encourage house unity, whatever that was. Now, all my classes I now have with another house. Yea, like that's going to promote house unity any more than it already has.

A thick roll of parchment tapped my desk and I looked up into the eyes of the brightly dressed professor. He smiled slightly and handed back my essay.

"Good work on your essay, Ms. Connor." he smiled. "While I enjoyed reading your work, I must admit I failed to understand how a three feet essay became seven."

I stared at him and then my essay. If he didn't like it, he should've said so.

"I apologize, professor." I said taking my essay and putting it in my bag. "I was fairly certain you had said you wanted an essay at least three feet long."

He smiled again.

"Would you like to stay after class to discuss your work over tea? You have some very interesting ideas on the topic."

"If you wish, professor."

I watched him walk toward the Gryffindor side of the room. I don't understand why he would be impressed with my 'work'. It a report more than an essay. It's much more of a proper report than that waste of paper called the Daily Prophet. Ivan claimed the whole of the British Isles said Hogwarts is the best school there is for learning magic. Surly, they would at least teach their children how to do a proper report before sending them to school?

I look down at the glass paperweight I was supposed to be transforming into a jewelry box. With a wave of my hand, I can do it. It was like all the jutsu I was taught here. The thing was, these professors required you to do so with the pointy stick, wand, whatever it was. Although I do like my stick, it was just so breakable. And why would I need it if I can do without it?

The bell rang and stood from my desk. I packed my bag, careful to put the ink wells in a separate compartment so it would not spill. I grabbed my essay and headed toward the front of the class where Dumbledore was at with his phoenix. I ignored Viviane's look as she walked pass me. It wasn't a secret that I failed to casting the simplest spells with a wand. Nobody knew I can do without it. Besides, jutsus had never required a weakness such as sticks anyways.

"Miss. Connor." smiled the old man. Ok, maybe he wasn't that old but he's old to me. "Care for a lemon drop? Tea?"

"No thank you." I said watching him conjure a chair with his stick. I sat down in it and watched him frowned a bit.

"Shame." he muttered taking out a small yellow sweet from his candy bowl. With another wave of his stick, a cup of tea appeared along with a hot steaming pot of it on his desk. "Now I must congratulate you on your essay. It's very well written and can pass for a thesis of a NEWT student."

"I'm sorry, a what student?" I asked confused. In my defense, I just got here about a few months ago!

"NEWT, for Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests." he explained. "Although your written work is wonderful, your practical work is questionable."

"Am I going to be expelled, Professor?" I asked playing a person who fear of leaving everything behind. "I know I'm a Muggleborn but I promise I'll try harder."

"I was actually going to suggest to find yourself a tutor." smiled Dumbledore. Why the heck is he trying to become Iruka-sensei now? At least Iruka-sensei had the sense to approach someone who wasn't improving within a month verse waiting until it was two days before Christmas Break. "I'm sure one of the older students would be glad to help."

"Thank you. I'll go ask Professor Tumbleweed later on today." I smiled.

"Well, Miss Connor, if you are in need of anything, I'm always here to help. Now I believe there is still time for you to head to lunch."

I smiled before standing up.

"Thank you again, Professor."

**AN: Fair warning: everything is going to be written in third person unless said otherwise. Just kinda got tired of writing from Mariana's POV. Also, I will be making up a lot of names for students since there's not a lot of information on them. **

**«TOM RIDDLE»**

Tom watched as his classmates walked into the classroom. They were all the same, no matter wither it was those Gryffindorks or those of his own house. They walked into Slughorn's classroom, talking and laughing. They weren't like that two weeks ago when Grindelwald publically launched a full scaled attack on Germany's equivalent of Diagon Alley. Hundreds were killed. Maybe it was a strategic move but immediately afterwards, muggle villages and towns were attacked by grey robed magicals, all claiming it was for the greater good. No doubt, it was a display of power.

Tom looked around the room. Some people he has never even talked to smiled at him. All the work he had put into for the past few months were paying off. Even though the Slytherins were still convinced he was a mudblood, they all knew they should not underestimate him. It was a general unwritten rule in Slytherin. In order to move up in the chain of command, one must achieve one of the best academic standings in the school. If one was influential enough, or charismatic enough, one can eventually rule over the entire house of Slytherin no matter what you are. By now, at least the first year Slytherins stand behind him. He just have to get rid of the rest of them.

He barely glanced up when someone sat down right next to him. Ever since Headmaster Dippet announced his grand plan for House Unity, all his classes except for astronomy was with another house. In support of the Headmaster's grand plan, Slughorn had partnered up the Slytherins with the Hufflepuffs in potions. Thankfully, his head of his house had the sense to partner him up with someone that was actually capable of brewing a potion without blowing it up.

His partner was a mudblood by the name of Mariana Connor. Everything about her screamed MUDBLOOD. From her name to the way she talks, from the way she walks to how to eat. The only thing that was special about her was her ability to make flawless potions. That was the first thing that had caught his attention. It was the first day of class when he heard Slughorn praise her for her skills. Determined not to be outdone, Tom watched her during class. Maybe it was the fact that she was use to using a knife, maybe it was the fact that she was super attentive to detail, but that did not explain how her potions always end up even more flawless than Tom's, if even that was possible. The only thing that kept him from approaching her was the fact that she was as muggle as can be about performing magic. The rumors have it she can't cast a single spell. The thing was, if that were true, how on earth had she managed to cast that locator spell the first day of class in order to get to the potions classroom?

There were so many answers Tom wanted but knew there wasn't a way to have them. The only rank he held in Slytherin could easily crumble by associating to a mudblood, that is, if there was proof she was even one to begin with. Don't think he hadn't noticed that glint in her eyes when she was doing her Transfiguration Essay last week. They research she was doing was more than enough for a simple paper. Going through several books on transfiguration that were well beyond first year was the only clue Tom had about her potential.

He watched her. She unpacked her bag and pulled out the first year potions book. A glanced at the blackboard told her what she needed to prepare for, a simple Antidote for Common Poisons. The class had been preparing for this since last week. By now, he was pretty sure that everyone had been drilled, one way or another, by Slughorn that an antidote of any kind was borderline poison. There was still three minutes before the class started and exactly the time when Slughorn would walk into the classroom and tell them to start on the potion immediately. Tom looked down at the ingredients she had gathered. Normally, he wouldn't try to deliberately attempt to sabotage someone unless they had offended him in some way, wither it was intentional or otherwise, but he had to know. He had to know how is it that she was better than him.

Tom immediately started his concoction once Slughorn had entered the room. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched his partner examine her ingredients closely. 'The best he had ever seen.' That was what Slughorn had told her. This time, he had prepared to watched the _best. _As he began chopping his dandelion roots, he noted as she picked up the measured amount of tiny doxy eggs to begin the potion. They were poorly kept and were dried. How was she going to begin to put this potion together? The dried eyes clinked as she dumped them in a mortar and began pounding the life out of them.

His ladle escaped his hand as it twirled around his cauldron. He hadn't realized he forgot to keep stirring. He grabbed the large spoon before anyone noticed his blunder. Ten more stirs, he let the potion simmer. In five minutes, he have to make sure the bezoar is finely crushed to add to the potion. He was almost done.

As he begin crushing the bezoar, Tom watched. Connor was now starting the actual brewing. She began with the standard brew. OK, that what he started with. Then without a second glance, she dumped in a handful of dandelion roots _whole! _She waited another minute before adding the crushed doxy eggs pinch by pinch. Once she added the eggs, she began stirring counterclockwise. After the tenth stir, the brew turned into a pale blue color, the same Tom's potion had been before he let it to simmer. How was that possible? The doxy eggs are supposed to be added _after_ the bezoar.

She picked up a bezoar. It was the only ingredient that wasn't completely ruin. Then she took a knife and began shaving it. Strange.

Neither was paying any attention when something small, red and shiny was thrown toward their cauldrons.

_"Mudbloods!" _came a hiss.

**«MARIANA CONNOR»**

The hiss filled my ears and I quickly looked up knowing Slughorn will never allow whoever said that without punishment. I saw something small and shiny sail over my head and landed in my simmering potion. Shit.

With speed faster than possible, I wedge myself between Tom Riddle and my cauldron. A fraction of a second later, something thick and hot landed on me and burned. I thanked the morning training I've been putting this body through before m potion hit the right side of my face. I bit back a scream. The whole room was in chaos as I stumbled backwards and my head hit something hard before I passed out from the pain of the burn.


	12. Christmas

AN: It has come to my attention that some people had thought I killed the OC when she stepped into the veil. There's a really good reason she did that because it explains the connection between the Naruto and Harry Potter dimensions which would be explain waaaay later in the story. The body of Mariana Connor is just so there's no confusion of alternate dimensions and such. But to answer the question, she did not die. If there's any more confusion, let me know and I hope I can clear that up for you. Thanks! And this is also longer than usual so enjoy!

**«MARIANA CONNOR»**

It was dark. The familiar feel of bandages weren't comforting, especially if it accompany the tingling of burns and cooling salve. She could feel it, the damage from the right side of her hip all the way up to the right side of her face. Burns no doubt. Burns that will scar.

Damn this body! She would've thought by now it would be able to handle unleashing chakra without messing up. Apparently she was wrong.

Maybe it was the change in her breathing, or maybe it was the flush of her cheeks but someone had noticed her awakening. Shoes softly click against the stone floor of the hospital wing as the person approached her. There was no way she could see who it was. Mariana's eyes were bandaged. A hand took hold of some of her hair and twisted it in a nonchalant way.

"You're awake." came an accusing voice. "I thought Gryffindors were stupid but I supposed Hufflepuffs are more."

Slowly, she turned to the voice even though she knew full well she wouldn't be able to see him.

"M-Mr. Rid-dle." she said softly as her voice cracked. Mariana took a deep breath and licked her dried lips. Her mouth was dry. Then softly, she spoke again. "H-How may I help you?"

**«TOM RIDDLE»**

How can she help him? Really? Did she really ask that? Despite the fact that she's unable to move at all or the fact that she can't use her eyes at the moment, she still asks if she could help him? Tom ran his eyes over her. Her hair was spread out on the pillow, some sticking out of the bandaging around her hair. Her eyes had been hit by that weird potion she was making. Underneath the covers, he knew she was bandaged all over.

"What were you making in potions that day?" he asked finally deciding that he was going to get some answers. Besides, how much damage could she do. She was incompetent with the wand as it is.

"The assignment." she replied. Her voice no longer cracked. "How long have I been out?"

"Three days. I don't think you were doing the assignment. You were putting crushed doxy eggs in there."

Connor made a noise. She took another breath.

"You saw?" she asked before turning her head back. "I had to improvise. I was stuck with horrid ingredients and I figured I could make them work so the others won't have to be faced with a bad grade."

"That's stupid of you."

"Indeed, Miss. Connor." came Slughorn's voice.

Tom bristled. This was supposed to be _his_ interrogation.

"Professor." greeted Tom reigning in his anger.

"Afternoon Tom." said Slughorn. "Decided to stay for Christmas did you?"

"Yes sir."

"Good, good. Now, Miss. Connor, what was it that you were saying about improvising?"

Hm, this may just turn into his favor. Slughorn can interrogate her for him and he wouldn't have to do a thing!

"Yes, professor." she said softly. "I had to improvise. I feel that others should not have to make do with the ingredients I had."

"Ingredients? What do you mean, my dear?"

"I was stuck with dried Doxy eggs and badly dried dandelion roots. So, I improvised."

"May I ask how?"

Yes, how did she know what to do? Tom remembered watching her. Her potion was being completed the same time his was but with more preparations.

"I crushed the doxy eggs because the potion needed the protein in the eggs along with some of the acid produced from the eggs. Then I started brewing. Because the dandelion was poorly kept, I put them in the potion whole. Then I began putting the doxy eggs pinch by pinch. I stirred about ten times before letting it simmer. That was before something was thrown into my cauldron and blew it up."

"That was very irresponsible of you, Miss Connor." said Slughorn. Tom watched him as he walked around the bed to the other side. "At best, you had 70% of it actually working."

"That was what I was hoping for professor."

"I see," he said slowly.

By now, Tom was intrigued. He decided, she was the best in potions. He frowned slightly as the realization hit him. He was supposed to be the best, the genius. She was just a mudblood. Tom grimaced at the thought. Mudblood. That was what he was. He has no magical family. At best, he was a half-blood. There was no magical family by the name of Riddle anywhere. The Slytherins made sure he knew and would be reminded of it every day.

Before he realized it, he was left alone with the girl again.

**«MARIANA CONNOR»**

The air was thick with chakra. It wasn't hard to find who was the cause of it. Tom Riddle, from Slytherin. His chakra flared for unknown reasons and she smiled slightly. What made him do that? Did he have no control over his chakra? Then again, maybe not. He wasn't trained.

"What are you smiling at, Miss. Connor?" asked Tom sharply.

She turned toward his voice and smiled. His chakra licked her skin. It's been forever since something like that happened. It's been half a year since she had been transported to this dimension and fifty years in the past. Now, she had found him. The whole reason she was there for. He was the lost soul. Now, if only he didn't split himself up into pieces.

"You are strong, did you know, Mr. Riddle?" she asked. "There aren't many who can match you."

"What are you talking about?" he demanded.

Mariana heard a door swing open and the clicking of shoes on stone.

"I believe Madame Ross is heading this way. I suggest you come back later before she starts fussing."

There was another spike in his chakra. Tom was irritated. Mariana smiled softly as the clicking footsteps stopped behind Tom. There were some whispers and then there was a set of receding footsteps back out of the hospital wing.

Tom Riddle, the mudblood of Slytherin. She smiled at the thought. Oh, the irony of him in a house such as Slytherin! He was the one Enma-sama wanted. He's too powerful to be normal. He wasn't one of the normal humans here. Even the famed scholar Dumbledore can't compare and he was the strongest teacher I've sense here. No, Tom will surpass him in no time.

Madame Ross, the matron, sat her patient up and unwrapped the bandages around her head. It took all her medical training to refrain from recoiling from the sight. She knew there was no way to heal the girl completely.

Mariana hissed at the blinding light of the ward. Her free and undamaged arm immediately covered her eyes. Her dark hair hung around her face as she face downwards, away from the light. She opened her eyes, slowly adjusting to the brightness.

"Sorry about that dear." said the matron. "I thought a little sunlight would do you some good."

Mariana rest her arm by her side and remembered the tingling of the burns.

"Mirror." she croaked. The tingling was coming from her face, no, Mariana's face.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, dear." said Madame Ross trying to calm her panicking patient. How was she going to take it?

"I need a mirror, now!" she cried.

When the mediwitch tried to tuck her back in bed, she ripped the cotton covers from her and threw her legs from the bed. Stumbling from the bed, she ran toward the bathroom that was inside the hospital wing. The witch rushed after her, obviously trying to catch her before she made her way to the only mirror in the ward. The girl threw the door to the bathroom open, revealing a large mirror on the other side of the door. She stared at her reflection, frozen. Thoughts of Madame Ross chasing after her and of a certain Slytherin boy was forgotten.

Madame Ross peer over the girl watching her reflecting.

Mariana took a shaky step toward her reflection. Kami. Step by step, she got closer to her reflection until they were almost touching by the tips of their noses. No, no, no, no. This wasn't supposed to happen. Through the dark curls that hid her face, she could make out distinct scars made from burns. She reached to her reflecting, wishing it wasn't true. Her fingers met hard, cold glass. Kami. There was a burn behind her eyes. She blinked and a silver trail framed the left side of her face. On the right, she knew her tear glands were destroyed.

"Lord, I'm ugly." she whispered staring at her reflection. From the look of the scars, they will never go away.

Kami, Mariana. She never meant to ruin her body like that. She had vowed herself to take care of the body at the least. At the same time, she couldn't have let Tom Riddle die. He was the one she was supposed to be looking for. She is to protect him until it was his time. Until it was his time to be returned to the spiritual plane. Until then, she would be stuck here until Kami-sama deemed it fit for her to go home.

She moved the hair from her face and examined the blistering red tissue that covered the right side of her face. It trailed from the hairline, nearly missing her right eye and faded down her jaw. Her hazel eyes trailed down toward the neck and her torso was wrapped in bandages as well as her right arm.

The burn behind her eyes got worse as tears streamed down her left eye. The pressure on her right eye refused to be released.

She took in a shaky breath and steeled herself. Sure, she was female, but looks weren't so important in a mission. Training and knowledge was.

"Madame Ross," she croaked after wiping the tears from her face. "How will this affect my physical abilities?"

Madame Ross looked a bit lost before her medic training kicked in. Even though she was concerned for the girl and her worries about her physical appearance, she knew this question was going to be asked sooner or later before she was allowed to leave from the hospital wing.

"It shouldn't affect it much." she replied mentally going over the notes she had taken on Mariana. "Aside from the burns on your face, the rest should heal up nicely. Your arm will be functioning in full by the end of the year if you don't push it too hard. The potion missed your heart so I can get rid of the scars on your torso and your arm. Your face on the other hand, there's too many nerves and blood vessels for me to heal magically. I can take the pain away but your tear glands are destroyed. When you're older, you can glamour your face but as of right now, there isn't much we can do to cover the burns."

"Thank you," she murmured. "And when can I leave? I prefer not to spend the rest of Christmas break in bed."

" After a day of bed rest, you can leave."

The puff nodded and walked out of the bathroom, away from her reflection.

**«TOM RIDDLE»**

Tom strode out of the hospital wing nearly spitting in anger. That Hufflepuff was released before he could come back and get some answers out of her. Now she's somewhere in the vast castle and there wasn't a way for him to find her. Not only that. it was Christmas break and the majority of the students have left the school. He couldn't just _ask_ people if they have seen her. They weren't even here to see her. From what he gathered there was only fifteen students who stayed in school out of the six hundred or so that was enrolled. Besides, he was the only Slytherin who stayed at school and nearly the entire school don't associate with the Slytherin house. He would ask another first year who was naïve enough to believe him but there weren't many to choose from. Apparently, there wasn't as many first years this year compared to the other years and most of them opted to go home for Christmas.

He headed toward the library. The books filled with knowledge would help him calm down. Maybe then, he would be able to think clearly. He turned right at the next intersection and down the corridor leading to the moving staircases. He was in the hall where the library entrance was at when brightly colored robes deterred him. Instinctively, he knew who it was. His feet automatically backtracked and he step back into the corridor where he had first came from. Dumbledore had just missed him. Tom glanced around. Today was definitely not his day.

Normally, he would not go out of his way to avoid the Transfiguration professor but today was an exception. The old man had dislike him the first hour they've met. Damn Mrs. Cole and her inability to prevent the deterioration of the orphanage through the use of secrets. He was positive she had spouted everything that had happened in the orphanage. Then when the old man had came to talk to him, he couldn't persuade him to like him. And now, the old man is meddling with his affairs! Not to mention that look he had always reserve for Tom, the look of complete suspicion instead of the eccentric grandfatherly Dumbledore had always projected.

He glanced around quickly, hoping Dumbledore would not head his way before ducking into an unused Defense classroom.

**«MARIANA CONNOR»**

Smiling as she walked out of the library with a large tome, she walked into a nearby unused classroom. Humming a tune from far away, Mariana closed the door behind her and pulled out her wand. She sighed sadly. Too bad some of these spells required the use of wand cores to work, otherwise, she would've done them, what was it, wandlessly? With a few quick slashes through the air, she set up a privacy ward and then took out some strips of parchment. She winched as she bit her thumb and drew four seals on the strips of parchment. Embedding it with some chakra, she threw them to the four walls of the room and waited for the seals to start working. If someone really wanted to see her, they will.

Continuing to hum, she waved her hand toward the scattered desks all around the room and they stacked themselves against the wall. She then sat herself in the middle of the room and gingerly opened the tome. Finding the page she wanted, she began to read. Minutes ticked into hours and suddenly, someone had crashed into her wards and the four pieces of paper burned into ash. Her privacy ward was still activated.

The door closed softly and the boy with wavy dark hair stood close to the door, listening. Mariana watched as she closed her book softly. The face of Tom Riddle met hers at the sound of the closing tome. She was glad her hair was long enough to hide the pink burns on her face. Maybe because she was a female that she have the strong sense to be vain, then again, female shinobi at home were careful. As long as the scars aren't on her face, she was alright. Then again, in reality, this wasn't her face, this wasn't even her body. In fact, she shouldn't even be alive right now if time ran the same as the Elemental countries.

Violet eyes harden and Tom casted a locking spell on the door. She just watched him from the floor as he approached her.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Riddle." she said softly when he stopped a few feet away from her. "To what may I owe to the pleasure?"

Tom looked down at the girl in front of him. She sat on the dusty stone floor with a thick book next to her. The dust around her was undisturbed, as if she had been there for years. He looked straight into her honey hazel eye and tried to predict what she was thinking. Keeping his expression schooled, he couldn't help but worry. He couldn't read her. She wasn't the first he couldn't read. No, that exorcist had been the first. That was the first time Tom had felt true terror in his bones. It was then he vowed he would never be helpless as he was then, he would never become weak. The second person was Dumbledore. Bloody Dumbledore, taking to him, ordering him to return the things he had rightfully earned.

"Tom?"

The small voice broke through his thoughts. The dust have been disturbed. The girl who sat in the center of the room had moved. Now, she was standing a few inches away from him looking up at him with concern. Past her dark hair, he noticed the red tint on her skin. Burns, that was a given, from that potion. He remembered visiting her yesterday when she woke. She was bandaged all over. Now, he could see the extent of the damage done to her face.

"Tom?" she asked again, this time, leaning closer to him. Confusion clouded her eyes. "Are you alright, Tom?"

"Are those permanent?" he asked. As soon as the words left his mouth and his mind register what he had just said, he cursed himself for his control. Why? Why did he just ask that? He was a Slytherin, he should've had more tact than that.

Mariana took a step back and played with a strand of her bangs that fell in front of her burn.

"I supposed so." she said twisting it slightly. "Madame Ross told me she can't heal it because there's a bunch of nerves there and she won't risk damaging any of them. The burns on my chest and arms can be healed after a year or so of treatment."

Tom nodded.

"Since when did you call me 'Tom'?" he asked as she walked back to her book and sat down next to it.

"I'm not sure, Mr. Riddle, but I shall stop if you wish."

She pulled out her wand from her sleeves and waved it. A desk that was stacked against the wall appeared in front of her and she went to sit on top of it. She turned and smiled at Tom from behind her bangs.

"You won't tell, would you?" she asked with an amused glint in her eyes. "I find it refreshing when I'm not the one professors go to if they want an answer. Now, what can I help you with, Mr. Riddle?"

"What do you mean?" he asked. He was curious. From what he can gather so far, she knew things he didn't. She could've been a Slytherin but was instead sorted into the failure house of Hufflepuff.

"You wouldn't have found me if you didn't need me for something."

He opened his mouth but closed it immediately. Should he? He was a Slytherin, he should have the ability to find a way to get his answers out of her. Then again, she did ask if he needed something from her.

"I-I" he started. The rest was stuck in his throat. He would have to do better since he was a Slytherin. He took a breath. He wasn't use to saying things like this. "I want to apologize."

Her eyebrow raised.

"For what? You haven't done anything to me."

"I was supposed to take the hit in potions."

Mariana waved her hand at him, dismissing the topic. No, she didn't blame him. In fact, if he wanted to look at the details, she was the one who place herself between him and the potion. Tom reign in his anger. She waved him off. He had actually decided that he was going to apologize officially for the first time in years and she had just waved him off.

"It wasn't you're fault. I shouldn't have made that potion. But I have a feeling that wasn't what you wanted to talk about."

He stared at her. He still couldn't read her. Then, she suddenly slid off the desk. She landed lightly on dusty floor and her shoes hardly made a sound. She tugged her jumper to cover her hands and smoothed her hair to fall in front of the burns. She smiled up at him before leaning over and grabbing his hand with both of hers.

"Let's talk where none can pry."

Mariana held his hand and led him toward the door. Before she opened it, she turned back to the book laying on the dusty floor.

"I almost forgot."

With a flick of her wand, she disabled the privacy ward and summoned the book with a invisible string of chakra. She smiled at Tom before opening the door and walking out into the hall. She looked back at the Slytherin. He was so much like Neji. So much potential but none will see it because he was of the branch house, literally fighting to survive. Tom was powerful, she knew it. In fact, she knew it ever since she felt him angry. His magic, chakra, would flow around him effortlessly, ready to fulfill his command.

She slowed when she felt resistance in the hand she was holding. Turning back, she saw Tom staring at her with a hard look on his face. She sighed and tugged his arm.

"Come on." she said, whining a bit. "It's just a bit further."

This time, Mariana tugged harder forcing Tom to stumble a couple of feet before jogging down a corridor. She glanced around the empty corridor. There was nothing in this corridor. No moving pictures, or even tapestries. There weren't even doors leading into classrooms. On one side, there were floor to ceiling windows. On the other side, it was floor to ceiling mirrors, reflecting the school grounds and the Black Lake. The Hall of Mirrors in Versailles was just a copy of this corridor. In this corridor, the mirrors were seamless, creating a prefect reflection.

"There's nothing down here." said Tom as walked down the corridor, trailing her fingernails on the glass.

She suddenly stopped and releases the Slytherin's hand. Then she looked at the flawless mirror they stopped in front of. Without another word, she dove into the mirror, disappearing.

The boy stood there staring at the mirror where the Hufflepuff had just disappeared into. It was just like the barrier at King's Cross Station. The only difference was that there wasn't a marker. He hesitantly step forward and placed his hand on the glass. There was a slight ripple, and his hand fell through. He took a step, and then another one. With the next step, he was behind the mirror. He had step into a tunnel and the girl with the dark wavy hair and honey eyes was gone.

**«TOM RIDDLE»**

Glancing behind him, saw the mirror he had stepped through had became transparent, as if a veil was draped over it. He examined the tunnel. It had been years since anyone had step foot into the tunnel. There were cobwebs between the floor and the wall. The stone blocks on the floor weren't worn at all. The tunnel wasn't brightly lit but there must be a charm in place to allow some sort of light into the tunnel. He walked down the tunnel and away from the entrance. Soon, he stop at an intersection of the tunnel. It branches out into four paths. There, the puff waited for him.

"Follow me." she said before heading down the second to the right path.

As he followed her, his mind began to work. It hasn't even been half an hour since he had ran into that blasted Transfiguration professor. Then, the non-Slytherin girl in front of him had nearly dominate him in a conversation. Even when he was confronted by those in his house who was certain they were his betters, they could hardly best him. Maybe it was due to shock. Mariana Connor was not who she seems. She's fully capable of understanding the pure art of making potions. Slughorn's interrogation proved that. She was also proficient in magic. He knew her written work was great. He was often praised along with Connor whenever he received his essays back. Her magic, her ability to cast spells, she had chose to hide that. Why? To avoid scrutiny from the professors? But knowledge was power. She should be able to understand that. Why would she prevent herself from utilizing some of the most valued resources available?

The girl in question stopped and opened a door. Inside was something like a common room.

"I supposed you have some questions for me." she said as she took a seat in an armchair near the crackling fireplace. "I shall answer them to the best of my ability."

Yes, he had questions. He had many, in fact.

He took a seat and smiled at the puff in that hideous black and yellow striped jumper. The smile. he knew, would be the one he used back at the orphanage before they thought something was wrong with him. It was the smile that would get the caretakers and the matron to drop their guard. It was the one that would compel them to give him an extra serving or believe him over the others. But that was all a very long time ago…

Carefully choosing his words, he asked his first question. How Connor would answer this question would determine what other questions should he ask.

"I have many questions, Miss Connor, but I supposed the most prominent one is, who are you really, Miss Connor?"

He lean forward a bit, his eyes gleaming. Connor sat up straighter and crossed her legs. Her hands were clasped neatly on her lap. If he was not a Slytherin and was surrounded by purebloods, he would've thought she was a pureblood herself.

"Who am I?" she repeated. "I am Mariana Connor."

She shot him a smile, challenging him. As infuriating the thought of someone challenging him, he was also elated. The Slytherin first years couldn't keep up with him. They were good, but they weren't anything special. They had to learn from a young age how to navigate social waters, he had to learn on his own in order to survive.

"That's good. I would've been worried if you weren't. Then I would have to ask how you had manage to gain entry into Hogwarts."

Mariana laughed and he continued. "Out of curiosity, how are you in Hufflepuff? You would've surely fit in well with the Slytherins."

"Apparently, my Hufflepuff qualities are stronger than my Slytherin qualities."

"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that Hufflepuff was just a house for leftovers, people who the Sorting Hat can't place."

"Ahh, yes, that is a common misconception. From what I gathered so far, the Four Founders have different qualities they value and thus they have students placed in their House. Slytherin, if I'm not mistaken, values cunning and resourcefulness. Honest to say, I've never seen a Slytherin unprepared for class before."

A small laugh escaped his lips.

"So it was true." she continued with a grin. "Ravenclaw values knowledge in general and also wit. Gryffindor values bravery and determination. There's a very fine line between bravery and stupidity, I think. And then there is Hufflepuff. My House values hard work. We work for what we want, and deserve everything that comes to us. Along with hard work, we are patience, and will wait years for the right moment. We also value fair play, but that can be very vague further on in life, because there's no such thing as black and white. But not everyone can see those traits. I supposed that why there's a misconception about the House of Hufflepuff."

"Well, I shall keep that in mind. How are classes for you? From what I gathered earlier, you are not performing at your fullest."

"I'm pretty sure you're not the only one thinking the classes are beyond basic. I heard the professors talking about you. A prodigy, they called you, someone who appears once every so hundred years! Besides, I rather not have a target painted on my back by Dark Lord Grindelwald. I'm muggleborn. I'm pretty sure he would try to eradicate all the muggleborns along with the muggles at the same time if he could."

Tom nodded. Yes, he could agree with her but no Dark Lord would dare try to conquer Hogwarts. It was too well protected. Besides, from what the Daily Prophet was saying, Grindelwald was busy on the continent.

"What do you think about that? Do you agree with him?"

"What do I think about it? I won't say I agreed with him, but I don't disagree either."

"What do you mean by that, Miss Connor?"

"I don't think muggleborns should be eradicated along with the Muggles. The only reason why, aside from the fact I am too a Muggle born, is because magic is magic. I don't believe being purebloods enables you to have stronger magic. There is also concern about population. I understand that tradition dictates that pureblood are better, but if you think about it, if a family only has one child and that child marries another pureblood child, and then have a pureblood child, then the Wizarding population will continue to decrease with every generation. There must be a reason why muggleborns exists. Maybe it's to prevent the Wizarding population from extinction, or maybe they are just descendants of squibs. From what Mr. Vargas was telling me, squibs are generally casted out from the family and forced to live in the muggle world. But this is all speculation. I have no proof of this."

"Your thoughts on the matter are appreciated, but what do you mean magic is magic? As anyone else, I can guess but I like to know what you mean by that."

The girl smiled from her seat. Tom couldn't stop his lips from curling into a smile of his own. Sure he didn't expect such an answer about muggles but he supposed she had made her points. They exists for a reason.

"It means what it means. Magic is magic. No matter what other people calls it, magic is still, just magic."

He nodded. They continued on with their conversation about the war, and where they think it was heading. There was also news about muggle Germany, and how there was movement there that concerns the government. Throughout the entire conversation, Tom's impression of the Hufflepuff changed drastically. Through previous observations, he was certain she was a mudblood. Now, he wondered if everything she did was an act. For all he know, she could've been an orphaned pureblood, even though that possibility was slim to none.

"Well, that was certainly an enlightening conversation." said Mariana before standing up.

Tom blinked, and blinked again. How? In one move, she had just reverted back to her Hufflepuff mask. If he hadn't spent the last hour or so with her, he would've never guessed she was capable of being a Slytherin. Her posture was horrendous. There was no ounce of what she was in her. Her eyes had dulled over, concealing her real nature, or what he thought was her real nature, from the world.

"The professors will worry if we're not at dinner, Mr. Riddle."

Even her voice changed. She sounded weak and insignificant. In the back of his mind, he wondered if Dumbledore would be able to see past her mask.

She lead him out of the room and back toward the tunnels. Right before they exit out of the mirror, she flashed him a smile. The gleam in her eyes was the only proof of her mask before she step out into the empty corridor and toward the Great Hall.

**«CHRISTMAS EVE»**

Floopy, one of the house elves assigned to the Slytherin common room frowned at the small pile of presents the young Slytherin had by his bedside. He had just arranged it and no matter what he did, it was still only three presents and a card. He could've done something more if those three presents weren't flat like books. It was Christmas and young master Slytherin should be receiving gifts for fun, not for studying. Floopy's ears drooped. Poor young master Slytherin, maybe next year, Floopy will give young master Slytherin a gift too! And maybe he will have a bigger pile of presents for Floopy to arrange next year. Floopy nodded happily to himself about his plan. Then, he silently popped out of the Slytherin dorm.

The next morning, Tom glanced at the small pile of unexpected presents by his bed. He grabbed the card on top of it and flipped it open.

_Obscurus aequor_

_A token of our friendship. _

_I hope you like it. _

_Happy Yuletide_

_M. A. Connor_

**AN: I hope you like that! What do you think of Tom? I figure since he's only 11 and was just introduced into the Wizarding world, he's allowed to be a little gullible. **

**Please R&R!**


	13. Chapter 13

So I know I haven't been updating lately. There's a good reason for that!

After rereading some of the posted chapters, I realize some of them seemed rushed and confusing like. There are places where there needs to be an explanation but there isn't. Example: some people thought I forced Yue to kill herself. That wasn't the intended result but like I said, my interpretation of the Veil wasn't explained in anyway. The whole time skip from first day at Hogwarts all the way up until Christmas was me rushing trying to get my ideas out.

On top of that, I had intended the story to be a crossover but didn't realize that the actual crossover (excluding the OC) don't happen until further on. Because of that, I feel that it wouldn't be considered as a crossover until then.

As a result, this story is now on HAITUS and I am rewriting the chapters as of now.

Hopefully, I can be more through with the chapters and the chapters get longer and so on.

I will post a new and improved summary in the next few days and in the coming week or so, I will post the rewritten Chapter 1 and so on.

Thanks for reading! As being awesome readers, here's a preview of what can happen next!

Ticho

* * *

I watched the man with the blinding robes walk around the classroom. Our class of four has now turned into a class of ten. Why? Well there was an attack yesterday, or that was what was reported in the paper called the Daily Prophet.

My pureblood classmate, Ivan decided I should finally be let into the comings and goings of this world. For what reason, I do not know. In fact, for some reason, he felt that I should know every single little detail the Prophet had reported about the war. I wondered if he had ever heard of the saying one should never put all their eggs in one basket, neither should one get all their egg from the same place. Unlike home, the amount of information in the streets, or should I say this school, is inaccurate. And no, I did not come to that conclusion out of nowhere.

I mean, who in their right minds want to write 'and this, my dear readers, this reporter plans to find out if that's the last thing I do!' This reporter? Is the reporter the only source of information these people have for news? Sure, there's some truth in the so called 'report' but without other sources, this is hardly something I would called a report. Times like these, I wish I was back home where I can trust 80% of the information I was given. The other twenty can be guaranteed to be tampered with by traitors and the like.

So back to the wonderful story of my messed up life due to a failed jutsu, I am currently sitting in a transfiguration class of ten with six first year Gryffindors. Headmaster Dippet, as awesome as he is but somewhat carefree, decides to encourage house unity, whatever that was. Now, all my classes I now have with another house. Yea, like that's going to promote house unity any more than it already has.

A thick roll of parchment tapped my desk and I looked up into the eyes of the brightly dressed professor. He smiled slightly and handed back my essay.

"Good work on your essay, Ms. Connor." he smiled. "While I enjoyed reading your work, I must admit I failed to understand how a three feet essay became seven."

I stared at him and then my essay. If he didn't like it, he should've said so.

"I apologize, professor." I said taking my essay and putting it in my bag. "I was fairly certain you had said you wanted an essay at least three feet long."

He smiled again.

"Is this your last class for the day?" he asked.

"Yes, professor."

"Would you like to stay after class to discuss your work over tea? You have some very interesting ideas on the topic."

"If you wish, professor."

I watched him walk toward the Gryffindor side of the room. I don't understand why he would be impressed with my 'work'. It a report more than an essay. It's much more of a proper report than that waste of paper called the Daily Prophet. Ivan claimed the whole of the British Isles said Hogwarts is the best school there is for learning magic. Surly, they would at least teach their children how to do a proper report before sending them to school?

I look down at the glass paperweight I was supposed to be transforming into a jewelry box. With a wave of my hand, I can do it. It was like all the jutsu I was taught here. The thing was, these professors required you to do so with the pointy stick, wand, whatever it was. Although I do like my stick, it was just so breakable. And why would I need it if I can do without it?

The bell rang and stood from my desk. I packed my bag, careful to put the ink wells in a separate compartment so it would not spill. I grabbed my essay and headed toward the front of the class where Dumbledore was at with his phoenix. I ignored Viviane's look as she walked pass me. It wasn't a secret that I failed to casting the simplest spells with a wand. Nobody knew I can do without it. Besides, jutsus had never required a weakness such as sticks anyways.

"Miss. Connor." smiled the old man. Ok, maybe he wasn't that old but he's old to me. "Care for a lemon drop? Tea?"

"No thank you." I said watching him conjure a chair with his stick. I sat down in it and watched him frowned a bit.

"Shame." he muttered taking out a small yellow sweet from his candy bowl. With another wave of his stick, a cup of tea appeared along with a hot steaming pot of it on his desk. "Now I must congratulate you on your essay. It's very well written and can pass for a thesis of a NEWT student."

"I'm sorry, a what student?" I asked confused. In my defense, I just got here about a few months ago!

"NEWT, for Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests." he explained. "Although your written work is wonderful, your practical work is questionable."

What is he getting at?

"If I may ask, Miss. Connor, when was the first instance of you experiencing accidental magic?"

"Excuse me, Professor?"

"Accidental magic." he repeated. There was a strange glint in his eyes. "Anything strange that happened when you were little that you couldn't explain. Anything that happened when you feel scared or when you feel like you're in danger?"

A memory that wasn't mine came to mind. Mariana's memory. In fact, it was a car accident when she was five and she made it blow up when she realize she was going to get hit for crossing the street without looking. Much in the very same way she died, except this time, she couldn't save herself.

I steeled myself and looked straight into the eyes of the oddly dressed professor.

"With all due respect, Professor," I almost hissed. This is surely an unwarranted attack on me, if not the dead Mariana. May her soul rest in peace in the peaceful plains of the world of the dead. "Why are you asking for my experience with accidental magic?"

Dumbledore sighed. Why did Dippet decide to dump this on him. Sure he was the Deputy Headmaster but shouldn't the Headmaster handle this?

With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore closed and locked all the doors and windows leading out of the classroom. The girl with such a brilliant mind glared at him, knowing what had just happened.

"Miss. Connor, I must be honest with you. It has come to Hogwarts attention that you do not belong here. I have no idea how you managed to replace the real Mariana Connor but obviously you are anything but magical."

I nearly panicked when I heard the replacement part but calmed when I heard the magical part.

"Hogwarts believe you have stolen a wand from one of our own and have infiltrated our community. Bad enough as it is, you have over three months of information you should not have and is a security risk to our community. How a muggle like you infiltrate our community is a wonder."

"Are you aware of the implications you are accusing me of?" I demanded standing up.

Magical or not everyone here is capable of using chakra. Those so called muggles have barely any chakra other than the amount used to sustained their lives. These so called magicals rely on stick to amplify their slightly larger chakra cores. I, on the other hand, require no tool. But, if he wish to test me, I'll show him!

I summoned my wand from my sleeve and a fraction of a second later, my trusty, useless… well, not so useless stick was pointed at my transfiguration professor. I will not have _him _destroy my mission and my ticket home with his accusations.

"Hand over that wand, Miss. Connor." said Dumbledore standing up. "There's no possible way a muggle can use it."

Really, why couldn't Headmaster Dippet approached the girl? It would've save him a whole lot of headache. But no, the headmaster thought he could push the responsibility to his deputy. A muggle can't do any damage to a wizard, can it?

"Then what?" I asked as I began to retreat. "You're going to _obliviate_ me? Sorry, professor, but I refuse to be defenseless."

"A muggle should not be allowed to step foot into Hogwarts!"

Oh, headache, why must you appear now? Dumbledore raised his wand at the girl. If only she was magical, she would've done great for the greater good.

"I repeat, Miss. Connor, surrender the wand." Dumbledore said stepping around his desk. "Worry not. You will be home tomorrow morning with no memory of this. Everything will be just a dream."

The door to the classroom opened and Tumbleweed stepped in. He drew his wand immediately at the sight of two other wands.

"What's going on, Albus?" he asked. He was far enough away to direct his wand from one person to the next.

"Professor Tumbleweed." I greeted glancing at him from the corner of my eye. "I see you are part of this nonsense as well."

He ignored me and turned to Dumbledore.

"Albus, why do you have one of my Puffs at wandpoint? Headmaster Dippet will hear of this from me!" he said pointing his wand at the old man.

"There's have been a breach of security, Benjamin." he replied. "A Muggle have infiltrated Hogwarts."

"You surely don't mean Mariana." Tumbleweed gasped.

I hastily backed up until I can point my wand at the both of them. Annoyances they are.

"I assure you, professors, that I am _not _a muggle you suggest I am." I said gripping my wand. I can cast that stupid magic they want me to. I just need to make sure I don't overload the wand and break it. I would hate to get a new one. "I suggest we leave here without ever thinking about this instance again."

By this time, I could hear footsteps coming toward the classroom. I turned around toward Tumbleweed and slashed my wand toward the door behind him. The door snapped closed and locked. I turned toward Dumbledore again and smiled.

"Now that I believe we are truly alone, professors, I believe a memory charm is in order, correct?"

"Now Miss. Connor…"

I smirked at Dumbledore before drawing the smallest amount of chakra into the wand.

"I believe it's time to say adieu to your memories. _Obilviate."_


End file.
